Eponine's Tale: Part 2: But He Never Saw Me There
by Mormeril
Summary: The sequel to Before the Revolution. Cosette has returned to Eponine's life, and Marius is head over heels in love with her. Heartbroken, Eponine agrees to help him. Meanwhile, LaMarque has died, and Enjolras is determined to win in the uprising he has planned.
1. Prologue

**Hello, and welcome to Part 2 of Eponine's Tale! I recommend reading part 1 first, but as this picks up where part one left off (aka, it starts where Marius meets Cosette) you'll probably still know what's going on. And, as always, reviews are much appreciated!  
**

**Eponine's Tale Part 2:**

**But He Never Saw Me There**

_Prologue_

_Eponine opened her eyes, and found that she remembered little. All she knew was that she was in serious pain. She had been injured somehow, apparently. But how?_

_She tried to sit up, then remembered. The barricade, she had been shot. She hissed in pain as her wound forced the memories back._

_Marius. This was his fault. He had sent her off to deliver a letter to Cosette. His precious little blonde angel. Everything she had grown to care about had changed within a single week. Only a week ago, Cosette had returned to Eponine's life, and made her more miserable than ever. Thanks to Cosette, she had lost the one thing in her life that had still mattered to her, that had still given her hope. Cosette had taken away Marius._

One Week Earlier…

"Cosette… Now I remember. Cosette, how can it be?" Eponine's eyes were wide. "We were children together… Look what's become of me…" she whispered the last words painfully. She raised her head and saw Marius heading towards her.

She quickly brushed off her skirts, forcing herself to look less upset than she felt. "Good God, oh what a rumpus!" she commented, watching as her father continued to slink off away from where they had attempted to rob Cosette's father.

"That girl, who can she be?" Marius wondered aloud. Eponine felt her stomach churn at the thought of Marius being with Cosette.

"That cop, he'd like to jump us," she laughed. "But he ain't smart, not he!"

"Eponine, who was that girl?" Marius asked her.

"Some bourgeois two-a-penny thing," she replied off-handedly. Cosette, get Marius as well as the rest of the life Eponine had always wanted? Never.

"Eponine, find her for me!" Marius pleaded.

She decided to play with him. "What will you give me?" she asked with a smirk.

"Anything!" He was desperate, and Eponine could tell.

"Got you all excited now, but God knows what you see in her," Eponine laughed, beginning to walk away. "Aren't you all delighted now, _no_, I don't want your money sir..." she said quickly, pushing Marius' hand away as he offered her money.

"Eponine! Do this for me... Discover where she lives, but careful how you go, don't let your father know. 'Ponine! I'm lost until she's found!" Marius pleaded, his eyes wide with longing, his beautiful eyes… How could she ever say no to those eyes which she so desperately loved?

Perhaps, by helping him find Cosette, he would see how much she cared about him, and he would change his mind and love her instead.

She smiled. "You see, I told you so! There's lots of things I know," she told him, and he smiled gratefully before walking away. Her heart sank as he left. "Ponine... she knows her way around…"

She sighed and wrapped her skinny arms around her. Would he ever see her for who she really was, and know how she truly felt?


	2. Chapter 1

**Well, here's the first chapter! Hope you like it! Thank you to all who reviewed.**

Chapter 1

Eponine hurried back towards the Café Musain. She had done it; she had found the place where Cosette was living. Marius would be thrilled.

_And I, I will have nothing. Cosette wins._ She stopped outside the door, her hands balled up into fists, fire in her eyes. _Why am I even doing this? Why am I helping Marius to be with Cosette? I love him, I've always loved him, it should be me! Why can't I have even a scrap of happiness, for once in my life?_ She was trembling then, standing outside by herself.

_I love him._ "Oui, je l'aime. Mais, toute seule dans mon histoire," she murmured. It was then that she made up her mind. She would help Marius with Cosette, but that didn't mean she was going to give up on him. There was still the chance that Cosette wouldn't be what he thought she would be, and the chance that Cosette wouldn't love him.

Yes, she would pray for that. As she walked up to the door of the café, she smiled at the scenario that was playing out in her head. Cosette would break Marius' heart into a thousand pieces, and Marius would be devastated. Then, she would comfort him, allow him to cry on her shoulder. Then she would kiss him on the forehead, and confess to him that she had always loved him, and always would. Then they would get married…

"The time is here! Let us welcome it gladly with courage and cheer! Let us take to the streets with no doubt in our hearts! They will come one and all! They will come when we call!" Eponine stared, dumbstruck, at the scene before her as Enjolras' shouts of joy broke her out of her beautiful fantasy.

Her brother, Gavroche, was next to Grantaire, beaming up at Enjolras as if he were the greatest thing in the world. Enjolras' dark eyes blazed like flames, with a fierce determination that made Eponine feel slightly afraid. Marius and the other young men had their eyes fixed on Enjolras.

She backed up slowly, and pressed herself against the wall. Before leading Marius to Cosette, she wanted to know what was happening.

"Do you hear the people sing, singing the song of angry men? It is the music of a people who will _not_ be slaves again! When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums, there is a life about to start when tomorrow comes!" Enjolras said from where he stood. Everyone's eyes were fixed upon him, and Eponine could see why. He was, perhaps, the most charismatic person she had ever met.

"Will you join in our crusade, will you be strong and stand with me?" Combeferre joined in now. "Beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?"

"Then join in the fight that will give you the right to be free!" Courfeyrac shouted, throwing his fist in the air.

It was then that Marius spotted her, and ran over to her.

"Eponine, did you find her?" he asked her, and Eponine was relieved that the others were too focussed on planning their revolution to pay any attention to what was happening between her and Marius.

She glanced down at the floor, hearing the jubilant shouts of the various people in the café. "Yes," she said after a moment, before raising her eyes to meet Marius'. She forced a smile. "She lives at number 55 Rue Plumet."

"Will you give all you can give so that our banner may advance? Some will fall and some will live will you stand up and take your chance? The blood of the martyrs will water the meadows of France!" Feuilly yelled happily as Marius simply stared at her, smiling, too happy for words. He threw his arms around her and spun her around.

"Thank you, thank you so much! Come on, let's go now!" Marius said, grabbing her hand and rushing towards the door.

"Wait, you want me to go with you?" Eponine asked, startled. The other students were ignoring them still, much to Eponine's relief, but not all of them. She could feel someone's eyes on her back.

"Of course!" Marius replied. "I need you to show me the way!"

Eponine felt her heart sink. Of course. She glanced back, to make sure Gavroche was all right, and instead saw Enjolras watching her with a sympathetic look. As she watched, he shook his head, as if he couldn't believe what Eponine was doing. No doubt Marius had been talking non-stop about his golden-haired beauty. He didn't even know her name yet, and yet he was already head over heels for Cosette. She realized then that Enjolras was glaring in her direction, yet the glare wasn't directed at her, but Marius, who was, of course, oblivious.

_Why does he care so much what Marius does? What on Earth is his problem?_ Eponine shrugged it off, then turned back to Marius with a smile. "Of course, what was I thinking. Come on, your angel awaits!"

Enjolras didn't understand Eponine. She loved Marius, a blind fool could see that, and yet there she went, with Marius, to lead him to that golden-haired angel he had spent almost an hour babbling about like a daft madman. A girl that he had seen once, yet was apparently in love with. It was enough to make Enjolras want to shake him and smack him upside the head, or perhaps take Grantaire's believed wine bottle and whack Marius over the head with it. Anything to get him to shut up and/or knock a decent amount of sense into him.

Marius was, obviously, a fool. A complete and total fool. He was the only one of Les Amis who couldn't see the most blatantly obvious thing in the world: Eponine Thenardier, one of Marius' best friends, the girl he had known for years, was completely and totally in love with him. How the man failed to see it was beyond Enjolras, but everyone else could.

"Where did Marius disappear to?" Joly asked suddenly.

"He left," Enjolras said bitterly.

"What's wrong with you? You were happier than I've ever seen you just moments ago," Courfeyrac commented.

"He left to find that blonde bimbo he was talking about earlier," Enjolras replied.

"I thought he didn't know where she-"

"And he got Eponine to lead him there, after sending her to track the girl down!"

"The man's an idiot, and we all know it!" Grantaire commented, stumbling back to his seat, a bottle of unopened brandy in his hands. He then looked at the bottle lovingly. "Now, my beauty, where were we?" he slurred, and that was the last straw for Enjolras.

"Grantaire, put that bottle _DOWN!_"


	3. Chapter 2

**Merci beaucoup for all of the support so far! Here's chapter 2! Probably a good time to mention that Part 2 will be slightly darker than Part 1, however, there will also be a fair bit of humour (with Grantaire, how can there not be?).  
**

Chapter 2

Eponine laughed as she and Marius raced down the streets of Paris. She could hardly remember the last time that she had seen Marius so happy. And seeing him that happy made her happy. No, overjoyed was the right word. But then she remembered.

It was Cosette that was making him happy. Why did it have to be Cosette? She wished that it were anyone but Cosette, then perhaps this would hurt less.

"In my life, she has burst like the music of angels; the light of the sun!" Marius practically sang out as he twirled Eponine around. She laughed again, despite herself. She should be furious right now! What was wrong with her? "And my life seems to stop as if something is over and something has scarcely begun!"

They were there, she realised. They had arrived at 55 Rue Plumet. Those last few happy moments were over. She nodded to the gate, and Marius grinned before hugging her. "Eponine, you're the friend who has brought me here! Thanks to you, I am one with the gods and heaven is near! And I soar through a world that is new, that is free!" he walked up to the gate, while Eponine backed away.

"Every word that he says is a dagger in me!" she whispered, feeling her heart begin to break. "In my life, there's been no one like him anywhere, anywhere where he is. If he asked, I'd be his!" She sighed. "In my life, there is someone who touches my life…"

"Waiting near," she heard Marius whisper, touching her shoulder. She knew that he was asking her to wait there for him. Her heart screamed at her to leave

She shut her eyes, and leaned against a tree. "Waiting here." A tear slid down her dirty face as Marius walked over to the gate and peered in.

She heard him gasp in joy and assumed that he had spotted Cosette.

"A heart full of love," she heard him whisper. "A heart full of song. Oh, I'm doing everything all wrong! Oh God for shame, I do not even know your name. Dear mademoiselle, won't you say? Will you tell?"

"A heart full of love, no fear, no regret!" she heard a pretty female voice reply. So, not only was Cosette a visual beauty, but a vocal one as well! And she appeared to be as fond of Marius as he was of her! She trembled as her hands balled up into fists.

"My name is Marius Pontmerci," Marius told her.

"And mine's Cosette!"

"Cosette, I don't know what to say…"

"Then make no sound."

"I am lost…"

"I am found."

She heard the gate open, and peered around to see Marius go inside and take Cosette's hands. She tried to block out their voices.

"A heart full of light!"

"A night bright as day!"

"And you must never go away, Cosette! Cosette!"

"This is a chain we'll never break…"

"Do I dream?"

"I'm awake…"

Eponine trembled and pressed herself closer to the tree. "He was never mine to lose," she told herself. "Why regret what could not be?"

"A single look, and then I knew!"

"I knew it too!"

"These are words he'll never say," Eponine whispered, sliding down the tree until she was sitting with her back to it. "Not to me…"

"From today…"

"Not to me. Not for me." She felt tears slipping down her cheeks.

"Every day!"

"His heart full of love…" She titled her head up to look at the sky. The sun was setting. How perfect. "And he will never feel this way."

She turned to look at Marius. He appeared to have completely forgotten her. She had no need to keep waiting, not while he was busy locking lips with Cosette. She scowled at the sight of them kissing. They had just met! That should be her kissing Marius. Her, not Cosette!

Feeling like she was going to cry, she stood and ran towards the river. She reached the bridge within minutes, and collapsed against the rail, gripping it tightly with her small hands, leaning over, gazing into the water. She tried as hard as she could to restrain herself from crying, but couldn't stop the tears from falling.

Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and she gasped in shock as she jumped and spun around to see Enjolras.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he told her as she glared at him.

"Do me a favour and go away. I'd rather be alone right now," she snapped at him, turning away to look back at the river.

"If it hurts you this much, why did you help him find her?" Enjolras asked her.

"You wouldn't understand!" she yelled, whipping around to face him again. "All you care about is your stupid revolution! You don't care about anything else! It's all that matters to you! So what would you know about actual human feelings?"

His eyes narrowed. "I know enough to see that you love Marius; a blind idiot could see it, even if he can't. And I can tell that you're upset."

She gazed intently at him. Why was he showing her compassion? It was Enjolras, not Joly, or Courfeyrac, or Comebeferre. Enjolras. The man of marble who cared about little else, save for his revolution. So why was he being so kind to her? She realised then that this wasn't the first time she had had such an encounter with the revolutionary. It had been he who had stopped her the night she had considered throwing herself into the Seine.

"Why is it that we always seem to have this sort of conversation together here on the bridge?" he asked her suddenly, as if he had read her mind.

"Who knows, and who cares?" she retorted, crossing her arms as she glared at him.

"There you are, my love." Eponine felt her blood run cold, and noticed a confused look cross Enjolras' face.

"'Parnasse," she said coldly. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you, of course, 'Ponine," he replied, stepping into the light. She turned her glare away from Enjolras and glared at him instead.

"That was hardly necessary, I know my way home," she snarled.

"Eponine, do you need any help?" Enjolras asked, noting the way she interacted with Montparnasse.

"No, I can handle him myself," she replied sharply.

"Yes, pretty boy, she can handle me herself," Montparnasse laughed, wrapping one of his arms around Eponine's shoulder. She was very tempted to punch him, but didn't. Montparnasse cared about her in his own twisted way, which was more than she could say for Marius. "Now why don't you run along home?" Montparnasse growled at Enjolras.

Enjolras looked at Eponine, who forced a smile on her face. She didn't really want to be left alone with Montparnasse, but she didn't want Enjolras to get involved either. Despite the smile, he continued to hesitate, making her think that he doubted her. So she did the last thing she wanted to do in that moment, and turned her head to kiss Montparnasse. Montparnasse seemed surprised for a second, but immediately after, he smirked at Enjolras.

"She's perfectly fine, no need for you to worry. 'Ponine is no concern of yours," he told Enjolras firmly, pulling Eponine closer to him.

Enjolras nodded, and dipped his head respectfully to Eponine. "Mademoiselle," he murmured before walking away.

As soon as he was gone, Eponine pulled herself free from Montparnasse and glared at him.

"Why can't you just leave me alone!" she yelled.

"Why should I?" Montparnasse asked her, his eyes narrowing.

"Because I hate you!" she replied instantly. She knew it was a stupid comment that would accomplish nothing, but she couldn't help it.

Montparnasse smirked. "Didn't seem like that when you were kissing me."

"I only did that to get Enjolras to go away!" she replied. It was true. She hadn't wanted Enjolras to try and interfere with her issues with Montparnasse. If he tried, he would only get hurt. _But since when do I care what happens to Enjolras? He's nothing to me, just an annoying revolutionary who tries to interfere in my life_.

"Oh really?" Montparnasse replied, his eyes still narrowed. "Oh well, it doesn't matter. You're coming with me."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!"

"Actually you are. Your father wants you home now. And I paid for you."

Eponine groaned. How perfect. Insult added to injury. She began to wish she hadn't convinced Enjolras to leave. Oh well. She'd survived other nights with Montparnasse, and she would again, no matter how rough he was.

Besides. Now that Marius loved Cosette, why did it matter? She was already as good as dead.


	4. Chapter 3

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and for all of the support so far. I hope that you enjoy this chapter. I have a pretty good feeling that Enjy fangirls will.**

Chapter 3

Eponine awoke the next morning sore and exhausted. She was more bruised than she usually was after a night with Montparnasse, however, he had been furious about finding her with Enjolras. No doubt he had been trying to once again prove to her that she was his. Gratefully, he was already gone. Sighing, she stood to dress.

"Je suis seule au monde," she murmured as she pulled on her tattered chemise and skirt. She began to run her fingers through her hair in an attempt to make it look somewhat decent, and then remembered the comb from Joly. She was always forgetting about it, even nearly a month later, as for years she'd been stuck trying to simply pull the knots out of her hair with her hands.

She quickly began to tug the comb through her by now untameable curls, recalling a different time. A time when her hair had actually been perfect; it had been a beautiful reddish-brown colour that had fallen down her back in gentle waves. Her hair was still reddish-brown, only now it was dull, and in tangled curls. And by now it was also full of dirt and dust.

After a while, she gave up. Her hair was hopeless, but she thought it looked a bit better than before. With a scowl, she gave up and grabbed her hat. Cosette's hair was blonde, shining, and perfect. Just like everything else about her. Not only did she have Marius, but she also had flawless beauty.

"Cosette gets everything I want," she snarled as she pulled the cap onto her head forcefully. She squeezed her eyes shut, allowing a tear to fall down her face.

"Il ne m'a jamais vu là-bas," she murmured sadly. She bit her lip as she realized her only chemise didn't cover all of the fresh bruises from the night before. Her arms were a deep purple-blueish colour in many places.

She winced at the thought of Les Amis asking her about them, and searched frantically for her old tattered shawl, hoping that maybe it would help. When at last she found it, she grimaced. It had more tears and holes than she remembered. _Oh well, it's better than nothing,_ she decided, and wrapped it around her shoulders before leaving her room.

She rushed down the stairs and out into the streets as fast as possible, not wanting to be caught by her father or 'Parnasse. She was not in the mood to deal with either of them.

She stepped out onto the streets, and breathed in the fresh air. She glanced around, wondering how to spend her day. It was still quite early, the sun had just risen. For the briefest moment, she considered finding Marius, but changed her mind a second later. She was not at all interested in hearing about Cosette.

She knew she would have to eventually, but not now. Now, that was the last thing on Earth that she wanted to do.

Then she remembered her brother, Gavroche. It had been a while since she had spent time with him. And she wanted to know what had happened when she had led Marius to Cosette. Yes, that was what she would do. She would find her brother and talk to him. He had been at the meeting the night before, and he could tell her what had Les Amis d'ABC so excited.

"General LaMarque died," Gavroche told her after she had found him. He was trying to make her share the loaf of bread he had with him, but she was refusing.

"No Gavroche, you're younger, you need it more!" she insisted again. "And why would someone dying get them so riled up?"

"Because, sis, he was the only one in the government that stood up for people like us!" Gavroche explained to her. "Really, don't you know anything about the government?"

"Not really, I haven't had the chance. Father sees to it that I am otherwise occupied," she replied to her brother, her tone becoming bitter at the last bit.

"Yeah, I've seen father dragging you to the streets where the whores usually are. Does he make 'Zelma do the same thing?"

"Azelma's gone. I haven't seen her in almost a month," Eponine replied, giving her brother a scathing look. She hadn't wanted him to know that about her. "I imagine he would if she were still here though."

"So you have no clue what happened to her, then?"

"None whatsoever."

The siblings sat in silence for another several moments before Gavroche once again tried to get her to eat.

"Come on, 'Ponine, you need to eat something!"

"No, 'Roche, I'm fine. You eat it. All of it." She looked at him sternly. "I can take care of myself, you don't need to worry about me."

Gavroche looked at her doubtfully, but knowing how stubborn and proud she was, obliged.

"Good boy," she said with a smile, ruffling his hair.

"So, will you be at the meeting tonight, 'Ponine?" he asked her.

She hesitated. "I- I don't know. Maybe."

Gavroche's eyes narrowed. "Are you all right?"

She opened her mouth to reply, desperately trying to think of a lie, but found herself cut off.

"I was planning to ask her the same thing."

She turned her head sharply as Gavroche's eyes lit up. "Enjolras!" he yelled happily as Eponine shot him a death glare. Just who did the revolutionary think he was?

Enjolras' dark eyes studied her carefully. "A bit warm for that shawl today, don't you think, Eponine?" he asked her. "It was colder yesterday, but you weren't wearing it then. And yet you are today..."

Gavroche glanced from his sister to the revolutionary, then back again, obviously realizing that whatever was going on, he was missing something, then understanding dawned in his eyes.

"'Ponine, did he hurt you?"

"Gavroche, ma petit frère, go get yourself some more food," Eponine told him. "Here." She pressed a couple of sous into his hands. Coins she had been lucky to find on the ground that morning while she had been looking for him, and had planned to use to get herself a little bit of food.

"But, 'Ponine-"

"No, Gavroche!" she snapped.

"Fine, but you owe me an explanation later, 'Ponine!" Gavroche said before running off.

She turned her gaze coldly back up to Enjolras. "What do you want?"

"You're not giving him an explanation later, are you?" Enjolras asked, glancing at Gavroche, who was disappearing around a corner.

"I'll think of something, I don't want him to worry about me. Now, I asked you a question first. What do want?"

"To make sure you're all right."

"I don't need your pity." Her gaze was cold as she glared at him. "And why do you care so much about me? Don't you have your precious revolution to worry about?"

"You're important too, and it's people such as yourself that I am fighting for. What happened after I left you last night? Believe me when I say that I've been regretting walking away ever since." She forced herself to meet his gaze, and saw nothing but sincerity there. What trick was he trying to play on her? She knew him, he was the cold, marble revolutionary with the face of an angel who would marry France if it were at all possible, so why was he bothering trying to find out what was wrong with her? She picked her words carefully.

"Nothing that hasn't happened before," she told him slowly, turning her face away.

"So he's treated you that way before?" he asked, suddenly eying her left arm carefully. Eponine glanced down and saw an exposed bruise, a fresh one from the night before, and she quickly tried to cover it.

"It's none of your business," she snapped, speaking quickly as she stood and began to walk away. He wouldn't let her though, and grabbed her shoulder, forcing her to turn to look at him.

"It is my business; you're my friend!"

"Friend?" Eponine was outraged as she pulled herself away from him. "Are you mad? In what world are we friends? The only times we ever really have conversations is when you try sticking your nose into places it shouldn't be! You only ever really talk to me when you're trying to interfere with my life, and believe me, that is the last thing you want to do if you value your life!"

Enjolras watched her evenly as she yelled at him, his face almost entirely expressionless.

"If you keep trying to step in and help me every time I'm in trouble, believe me when I say that you will get hurt! You're lucky you didn't get hurt last night! Montparnasse-" she cut herself off then, a touch of fear in her eyes. "I- I've said too much, I have to go."

"Eponine, wait," Enjolras said, trying to stop her, but she turned to face him again. "Forget it, Enjolras. It's better for both of us if you just leave me alone after last night."

**Translations:**

Je suis seule au monde: I am alone in the world (taken from the French Version of On My Own, Mon Histoire)

Il ne m'a jamais vu là-bas: He never saw me there

Ma petit frère: My little brother


	5. Chapter 4

**So, out of curiosity, I finally checked to see what suggestions Microsoft Word had for correcting 'Ponine (as it wasn't recognized by the dictionary, but I added it, got fed up with the red lines), and it suggested Panini. So I got a good ten minutes of laughter from that.**

Chapter 4

Eponine had no clue why she was even bothering as she slipped into the Café Musain and made her way to the table she always sat at with Marius. After leading him to Cosette the night before, she was certain that the blonde girl was all he would want to talk about.

She spotted Marius already sitting there, frowning at a piece of paper.

"What in the world are you doing?" she asked him.

"Oh, 'Ponine, thank God you're here! You can help me!" Marius exclaimed, his eyes lighting up as he spotted her. She felt her heart flutter at his words.

"Help you with what?" she asked, sitting beside him.

"A love poem for Cosette!" Her heart stopped fluttering and sank in her chest. She tried to ignore Enjolras' scowl that was very clearly directed at Marius, and his look of pity as he looked at her instead.

"Oh, yes, of course. Cosette," she said, crestfallen. Marius beamed at her.

"Marius, you can focus on Collette later, we have plans t-" Enjolras began, but Marius cut him off.

"Her name is _Cosette_, Enjolras," Marius retorted. "Not Collette!" Eponine snorted with disdain, and was grateful that Marius didn't hear her.

"Collette, Cosette, whatever!" Enjolras replied. "But we have a revolution to plan, so you can worry about your precious little what's-her-name later!"

Marius scowled for a moment, then pulled a paper out of his pocket. "'Ponine, can you please bring this to Cosette for me?" he asked her, scribbling a note on it. "I need her to know that I'll be later than I expected because of Enjolras' meeting."

Eponine frowned. "Of course Marius, I'd do _anything_ for you." She was hoping he would catch her tone and meaning in the words, but he just smiled at her gratefully.

"You're the best 'Ponine. Thanks!" He then passed her the note, folded up the unfinished poem, and went to join Enjolras, who was glaring at him. As she began to stand, she saw Enjolras glance at her with an expression that clearly said '_why?_' She turned away, and walked towards the door, feeling once again as though her heart was breaking.

* * *

Eponine was determined not to let Cosette recognize her. If she was going to deliver a message to her, Cosette was not going to know it was her. So she ran home first, and grabbed her boy clothes.

Over a year before, on days when she just wanted to get away from her father and be entirely alone, she would disguise herself as a boy. Of course, her father eventually began to recognise her, and it no longer worked, so it had been a year since she had worn the disguise. But she was certain that it would do its job for now, and prevent Cosette from even remotely recognizing her.

She quickly changed her skirt and chemise for the trousers and blouse, and pulled on her coat before tugging her hair back and forcing it under her cap, so that her long hair wouldn't be visible.

She then picked up the small mirror Joly had given her and inspected her reflection. For once, she was grateful that her face was too gaunt and bony; if it weren't, her facial features would be more noticeably feminine, which would be unhelpful for her disguise.

Confident that her disguise would work, she slipped out of the inn and into the streets. She went to Cosette's as quickly as she could, so that she could return quickly to the café and her friends. She gripped the note that would let Cosette know Marius would be late tightly. She had half a mind to tear it apart, but knew that Marius would find out and never forgive her. A tear slid down her cheek. Why did it have to be Cosette?

Eventually, she reached Rue Plumet and made her way to number 55. She composed herself before making her way to the gate, where she saw Cosette.

The slim, beautiful blonde was walking cheerfully towards her. Eponine was certain that there were stars in her bright blue eyes. She thought that she was going to be sick. She stepped away and stood to the side, where she would be more out of sight, and contemplated just leaving.

Cosette reached the gate, and glanced around, looking confused. Eponine sighed. She had to do it. She had to give Cosette the note.

"Mademoiselle?" Eponine asked quietly, once again stepping into sight. Cosette looked at her, confused.

"Who are you?" she asked. "Where's Marius?"

Eponine looked down. "Monsieur Marius sent me to give you this," she said quietly, holding out the note.

Cosette beamed at her. "Thank you, boy," she said, falling for Eponine's disguise. She quickly glanced over it, then said 'wait here'.

Eponine scowled as Cosette ran off to write a reply. "I'm not your personal messenger," she hissed through gritted teeth when Cosette was out of hearing range.

Within three minutes, Cosette was back. "Sorry, but I really wanted to give him an answer," Cosette explained, a bright smile on her face as she passed the note to Eponine. Eponine really wanted to slap the happy expression off the girl's face, but instead she smiled at her in return.

"Of course," she said cheerfully, and Cosette had a sudden expression of surprise.

"Have we met before?" Cosette asked her, narrowing her blue eyes slightly.

"No, of course not," Eponine replied quickly. "Why?"

"You look somewhat familiar," Cosette replied.

"You've probably just seen me wandering the streets of Paris," Eponine replied, wanting to leave as quickly as possible. She was sick of being around Cosette.

"Eponine?"

"I have no clue what you're talking about. M'sieur Marius will be here later, and he's probably waiting for me to bring him your reply. Good evening, Mademoiselle."

And with that, Eponine ran for it, only to trip and fall, her cap slipping off her head, revealing the long tangled hair.

"Oof-" she gasped as she hit the ground hard, skinning her knees through the thin trousers.

"Eponine!" _Damn, she recognized me. There's no escape now._ She heard Cosette slip out through the gate and run towards her.

"Careful how fast you run; it would be a shame to ruin that pretty dress of yours!" Eponine sneered. Cosette ignored her, something that irritated Eponine.

"Are you all right?" Cosette asked her. "And why did you deny who you are?"

"First, no, I'm not all right. And second, why wouldn't I?" Eponine replied, refusing to lift her eyes to meet Cosette's as the girl knelt in front of her.

"I don't know, that's why I asked you," Cosette replied kindly. Eponine found herself loathing her for her kindness. Cosette was just too perfect for her liking.

"We were so different as children," Eponine murmured. "Our roles are entirely reversed."

"You were afraid of what I'd do if I recognized you," Cosette realized.

"Yes. Yes I was, and Marius can never know that you know me. Never," Eponine told her sharply.

"You love him!" Cosette's eyes widened.

"So what if I do? What does it matter?" Eponine said, trembling as she forced herself to her feet and put her cap back on. "I've lost everything else that matters to me, what's one more wound to add to my collection?" She was trying harder than ever not to cry now; there was no way that she was going to break down in front of Cosette. "Au revoir, mademoiselle," she said quietly before running away as fast as she could, this time stubbornly refusing to trip.

* * *

It took Eponine fifteen minutes to get back home, change back to her regular clothes and return to the café. When she did, she was surprised. Most of the men had left in the nearly an hour that she had been gone, and only Grantaire, Enjolras, and Marius were left.

The former was passed out drunk on the floor, and the latter two were shouting at each other. Since none of them had noticed her return, she quietly stood against the wall and listened.

"I thought she was one of your best friends!" Enjolras was shouting.

"She is! Why do think she's helping me?"

"If she is, then why didn't you at least bother to ask her how she is before sending her off to give a note to what's-her-name?"

"_Cosette_, Enjolras, for the hundredth time-"

"Whatever! Why?"

"Because I know how Eponine is!"

"Oh, really? Eponine is it now, instead of 'Ponine?"

Marius blinked, but didn't answer. "Then how is she today?" Enjolras continued while Marius remained silent.

Marius shrugged. "Bruised, like usual, yet still happy and cheerful, just like always."

Enjolras sighed. "You blind fool," he muttered, but Marius didn't seem to hear him, even though Eponine could.

"M'sieur Marius?" she said quietly, and Marius turned, beaming at her.

"Eponine! You're back! Did you see Cosette? Did she get my note?" Marius asked quickly, running over to her and grabbing her by the shoulders, smiling at her.

"Yes, of course!" Eponine replied with a forced smile.

"Get up, wine-cask!" Enjolras snapped at Grantaire, kicking him. Both Marius and Eponine turned to look momentarily.

"I love you too, Marie…" the drunk mumbled, kissing the empty bottle that he had clutched in his arms.

Eponine held back a laugh at the sight, then passed Marius Cosette's note. "She told me to give you this."

"Oh, thank you 'Ponine! You're the best!" He gave her a quick hug before leaving.

Eponine sighed as she watched him go.

"Why do you even bother with him?" Enjolras asked her as he tried to pull Grantaire off the floor.

"Because I love him," she replied softly.

Grantaire mumbled something incoherent, and Eponine smirked. "Here; let me help you," she offered as Enjolras nearly dropped the highly inebriated Grantaire on a table.

"I thought you wanted me to stay away from you," Enjolras replied as Eponine grabbed Grantaire's other arm and slung it around her shoulder so she could help Enjolras bring Grantaire home.

"That was before Grantaire became so drunk that he couldn't even stand up on his own," Eponine replied.

"Are you sure you want to help? Grantaire's rather heavy, and you're very sma-"

"I am stronger than I look," Eponine replied with a small glared.

Enjolras shrugged with one shoulder, as Grantaire was being supported with the other one, and said 'suit yourself'.

"So, where are we taking him?" Eponine asked once they were out the door.

"My flat. I am not leaving him alone at his own place; he'd probably get himself killed," Enjolras replied dryly.

Eponine nodded, and began to help Enjolras drag Grantaire home. Grantaire turned to look at Eponine.

"You know, you're very pretty when you get mad," he slurred. "Maybe sometime we should get together and-"

"Shut up, you're drunk," Eponine snapped before glancing at Enjolras. "Please tell me I'm not going to have to deal with his drunken comments all the way back to your flat?" she begged.

"Don't worry, I live just down the street," Enjolras assured her. Then Grantaire turned to Enjolras.

"So, Enjy, when did you start sleeping with 'Poni?" Enjolras was so stunned that he nearly dropped Grataire in the streets, and was momentarily convinced to do so and let him sleep there.

"First off, never call me Enjy again, secondly, her nickname isn't 'Poni, it's 'Pon_ine_, thirdly we are not in any sort of relationship beyond friendship, and fourth; you are lucky that you are this drunk because otherwise I would make sure that your face is entirely unrecognisable for that statement," Enjolras growled at Grantaire while Eponine stood there with her mouth wide-open in shock.

Grantaier continued with his ridiculous drunken comments for the next two minutes until they arrived at Enjolras' home.

"Thank you for the help, Eponine," he told her. "And I apologise for Grantaire's idiocy.

"It's fine, I've heard and dealt with worse from my father and his friends," Eponine replied with a shrug. "I'm surprised you weren't aware of that. You've seen the way Montparnasse treats me."

"Actually, I haven't," Enjolras replied.

"Who do you think the man from last night was, then?" Eponine reminded him.

"That was him? I can't believe I let you go with him-"

"He'd already paid my father; there was nothing you could do, and if you had tried anything, he would've killed you without a second thought," Eponine said sharply. Enjolras stared at her, dumbfounded, until he realised that Grantaire had somehow gotten free and was stroking his door and talking to it, clearly thinking that the door was a woman.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I should probably head home, my father will be wondering where I am," Eponine said quietly, with a quick glance at Grantaire. "And you need to deal with him before he causes any trouble," Eponine commented.

"Of course, goodnight, mademoise-"

"Just Eponine, please monsieur," Eponine said quickly, turning her head. "I'm no lady."

"Fine," Enjolras replied. "But only if you stop calling me monsieur."

"Very well then, Enjolras," she replied. Enjolras. She decided that she preferred calling him that to monsieur. And at the same time, Enjolras was deciding that he liked the way his name sounded with her voice. Then he looked down at Grantaire, and scowled.

"Come on, wine-cask, to bed for you."

***hides from Meponine fans* Review, please!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Thank you all for the reviews, they were, as alway, much appreciated. Another thing I appreciated was that no Meponine fans tried to kill me after the last chapter. Althought I'm still not confident that I'm safe from them, so... *hides again***

Chapter 5

Eponine gazed at the ceiling of her room. It had been two days since she had helped Enjolras drag the drunken Grantaire home, and three days since she had led Marius to Cosette. Which meant it would be either one or two days until LaMarque's funeral. And that would be the day that changed everything; even more so than the day Marius had met Cosette.

She rolled over onto her side and gazed out the window. It was still quite dark; the middle of the night. She rolled back on to her back. She had barely been able to sleep for the past three days, thinking about Marius being with Cosette, and the upcoming rebellion. What if Marius died, or Joly, or Grantaire, or Enjolras? And why on Earth did she keep going back to Enjolras.

"Damn him," she whispered as she thought of the stupid revolutionary. Who did he think he was, with his handsome face, dark eyes, and short dark hair, and his brilliant ideals… And why did she hate him, when he was being kinder to her than Marius was at the moment?

She groaned, flipped over, and buried her face in her pillow. Or, at least, she would have if she had a decent pillow. Hers, however, was so stiff that it was halfway between pillow and brick.

In a day or two, her world would be permanently changed. What would happen? And would it be changed for better or for worse?

She groaned again, and decided that she didn't care, just so long as she managed to get some sleep.

Enjolras couldn't sleep either. He stared at his reflection in the mirror, wondering what the next few days would bring. After tomorrow, or today, or whatever it was now, the world would never be the same.

He balled his hands up into fists. He would never admit it in front of the others, but he was afraid, very afraid. What if the people didn't rise up to help them? What if they were slaughtered? What if they lost? What would happen then?

And Eponine. He had a terrible feeling that she would show up, just for Marius. And he hated the thought of what would happen to her if she did.

Furthermore, why did he care so much about the scrawny little girl? He barely knew her. Was it because she was such a good example of the people he was trying to help? Or had Grantaire been on to something when he'd made that comment about them sleeping together? No, that couldn't be it. It had to be the first of those two thoughts. Eponine was, if anything, a friend.

Marius wondered why Enjolras was so annoyed with him about Eponine. What was his problem? Surely Enjolras didn't think that Eponine _liked_ him; that would be ridiculous! Marius with Eponine? As if! Enjolras was out of his mind if he thought that Eponine thought of himself as anything more than a friend, unless, perhaps, Enjolras thought that Eponine had a brother-sister relationship with him.

Eponine had been one of his best friends for years, and now Enjolras had the nerve to challenge that. For the past two days, Enjolras had been glaring at him and snapping at him every chance he got. Marius was beginning to find it really irritating.

And why, exactly, was Eponine suddenly getting so snippy? He wondered, perhaps, if there was something going on between his two friends. No, that couldn't possibly be it, Enjolras was a man of marble, and women badgered him constantly, yet he always turned them down. He had no interest in a relationship. None whatsoever. There was no way that anything was going on between him and Eponine.

Cosette thought again of the incident a few days prior, when she had had the run-in with Eponine. Really, what were the odds of the girl who had tormented her when they had been children turning up again in Paris, disguised as a boy, poor, and starving no less! Eponine had changed.

The child Cosette had known years ago had been pretty with lovely reddish-brown waves, dark eyes, and fair skin. She had been destined to be a true beauty when she grew up. But now she was scrawny – Cosette had been able to tell, despite the too-big male clothes she'd been wearing – and run-down. Cosette had changed too, and she knew it.

As a child, Cosette had been in Eponine's place; scrawny and frightened. Now she was the one who was beautiful, with her thick golden hair and bright blue eyes, and she was well-fed. Eponine was neither beautiful nor well-fed, now.

And she loved Marius. Eponine loved her Marius. How long had the other girl known him? Clearly a while, since she clearly cared for him so much. Did Marius know how she felt? Surely not, he couldn't, else why would she have been so afraid of Cosette recognizing her or telling Marius the truth?

Yet, despite loving Marius, Eponine had delivered his note to her, even though she must have known it was her. Eponine must have recognized her. Eponine wasn't stupid, Cosette knew that. She had been smart as a child, and now, living on the streets, she must be even smarter, or else she would have certainly died long ago. She'd been on the streets for years, from the looks of it, so she clearly knew what she was doing.

Cosette sighed. What was Eponine playing at, helping her and Marius to be together? _She must have a plan of some sort, or else why would she be doing this?_

No matter, she would figure it out eventually.

***still hiding from potential angry Meponine fans* Review please!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Here you go, another chapter! The interaction between Marius and Cosette at the beginning is lyrics from the original London Cast recording of A Heart Full of Love. Thought it would be fun to include them here.**

Chapter 6

Eponine spent the day wandering the streets of Paris feeling sad and alone. Marius had spent most of his time either daydreaming about Cosette, sending Eponine to deliver letters to Cosette (which had resulted in more awkward encounters with the blonde), or actually being with Cosette.

She knew that Marius would be visiting Cosette at that point in time, so why she was making her way towards number 55 Rue Plumet, she didn't know. All she knew was that she seemed to have lost control of her feet, which were dragging her towards where Cosette and Marius were.

"The words are foolish, but they're true. Cosette, Cosette! Oh were we dreaming when we met?"

Eponine groaned. Once again, they were professing their love for each other.

"Who can say?" she heard Cosette reply.

"Who can tell?"

Once again, she found herself leaning against the same tree she had leaned on the day that she had led Marius to Cosette. She felt as though her heart was breaking once again.

"I saw you waiting and I knew…"

"Waiting for you…"

"At your feet."

"At your call…"

As she listened, they moved away, and subconsciously she made her way towards the gate, wondering if she would see them. She didn't know why she was doing it. All she was doing was causing herself more pain.

And then she heard it, a rustling sound, as if someone was trying to move quietly so that they wouldn't be heard. She turned her head quickly, and glowered.

"'Parnasse, what are you doing so far out of our patch?" she hissed.

"This house, we're going to do it; rich man, plenty of scratch. You remember he's the one who got away the other day. Got a number on his chest, perhaps a fortune put away!" Montparnasse told her before turning away, no doubt wondering where Thenardier and the others were.

Eponine glanced at the gate again. There was no sign of Cosette and Marius. No doubt they were off somewhere in the garden, kissing. She felt her blood run cold. Marius.

"Oh lord, somebody help me!" she whispered as she walked away, back towards her tree. "Dear God, what'll I do? He'll think this is an ambush, he'll think I'm in it too!" She glanced back at where Montparnasse was greeting her father and the others. "What'll I do? What'll I say? I've got to warn them here, I gotta find a way!"

"This is his lair, I've seen the old fox around, he keeps himself to himself, he's staying close to the ground. I smell profit here!" she heard her father tell his gang. "Ten years ago he came and paid for Cosette. I let her go for a song, it's time we settled the debt. This'll cost him dear!"

Brujon broke in. "What do I care who you should rob? Gimme my share, finish the job!" Eponine knew she had to interfere, and soon. She began to walk towards them.

"You shut your mouth!" Thenardier snapped at Brujon. "Give me your hand."

Brujon, however, ignored him, spotting Eponine. "What have we here?"

"Who is this hussy?" Thenardier asked, sounding confused. How typical of her father to not recognize her.

"It's your brat Eponine, don't you know your own kid?" Babet asked him. "Why's she hanging about you?"

Thenardier looked at her, exasperated. "Eponine, get on home, you're not needed in this we're enough here without you!"

Eponine glared at him. "I know this house, I tell you! There's nothing here for you! Just the old man and the girl, they live ordinary lives!" She heard rustling from the other side of the gate, and wondered if Marius and Cosette had overheard the ruckus that she and her father's gang were making. She hoped they did.

"Don't interfere! You've got some gall. Take care young miss, you've got a lot to say," Thenardier snarled at her, advancing with a hand raised, as if he was about to strike her. She simply glared, unfazed.

"She's going soft," Brujon commented.

"Happens to all," Claquesous replied.

"Go home, 'Ponine, go home. You're in the way!" Montparnasse told her, eyes narrowed.

"I'm gonna scream, I'm gonna warn them here!" Eponine threatened, trembling slightly. She hoped that they didn't notice how nervous she was becoming, and that she wouldn't have to carry out her threat.

"One little scream, and you'll regret it for a year," Thenardier snarled, drawing closer, threatening her in return. She lifted her chin, trying to look braver than she felt at that moment. She could smell alcohol on her father's breath. She hated it when he was drinking, he was always worse then.

Claquesous was chuckling slightly to himself. "What a palaver, what an absolute treat, to watch a cat and its father pick a bone in the street!"

"Not a sound out of you," Brujon snapped at him.

"Well, I told you I'd do it, told you I'd do it…" she mustered all of her courage, and let out an ear-splitting shriek. Thenardier looked more furious than she'd ever seen him as he took three steps forward and grabbed her tightly around the waist.

"Make for the sewers, go underground! Leave her to me, don't wait around!" He then glared down at his daughter. "You wait my girl, you'll rue this night. I'll make you scream, you'll scream all right!" With that, he shoved her away from him, hard, making her tumble to the ground, scraping her hands.

She trembled as she heard Marius and Cosette approaching her.

"It was your cry sent them away!" Marius exclaimed, offering Eponine his hand to help her up, which she accepted gratefully with a small smile, ignoring the way her heart leaped at his touch. "Once more 'Ponine, saving the day!" He turned to Cosette, obviously preparing to quickly introduce them. Eponine felt a brief moment of gratitude towards the blonde for keeping her secret. "Dearest Cosette – my friend 'Ponine, brought me to you, showed me the way!" They all heard the sound of a door opening, and Cosette turned her head back towards her home.

"Cosette?" came a voice, and Cosette bit her lip as she glanced at Marius.

Marius' eyes widened. "Someone is near, let's not be seen, somebody's here!" He glanced at Eponine, wondering which way to go, and Eponine rolled her eyes before grabbing his hand and practically dragging him away.

"You haven't met her father yet, have you?" Eponine asked him, annoyed, as Cosette rushed off back inside the gate.

"No, not yet," Marius replied. "But I will eventually!"

"Come on, we should go," Eponine said, beginning to walk away.

"No, I'm going to stay for a bit," Marius replied. "I need to say goodbye, it would be rude to leave so suddenly!"

"All right then, but I'm leaving," Eponine replied before running off. She decided to try to find Joly. She could really use his company now.

* * *

Cosette was horrified. Leave? She had to leave?! What would she do without Marius!? She felt a tear slip down her cheek as her father went back inside. This was all Eponine's fault.

Eponine. Why had she done that? While it was her fault she had to leave, things would have been a lot worse if she hadn't screamed…

***flashback***

She and Marius were kissing as they heard a commotion.

"I know this house, I tell you! There's nothing here for you! Just the old man and the girl, they live ordinary lives!"

"What was that?" Marius wondered aloud as he and Cosette broke apart.

"I've no idea," Cosette replied, looking concerned. Together they slipped quietly through the bushes, and knelt just inches away from the fence, staying as quiet as they could as they watched the scene unfolding before their eyes.

"Don't interfere! You've got some gall. Take care young miss, you've got a lot to say," a man snarled at a scrawny dark haired girl, who looked very furious. Cosette recognized her as Eponine, and Marius seemed to recognize her as well. She then recalled Eponine's words, and realized that the two were definitely good friends.

"She's going soft," a man commented.

"Happens to all," another replied.

"Go home, 'Ponine, go home. You're in the way!" someone else told Eponine with narrowedeyes.

"I'm gonna scream, I'm gonna warn them here!" Eponine threatened, trembling slightly. She looked just the least bit nervous, but there was a fiery determination in her eyes

"One little scream, and you'll regret it for a year," the man in charge told her, and Cosette realized that it must be Eponine's father. She wondered when Thenardier had started treating his own children the way he had once treated herself.

One of the men was chuckling slightly to himself. "What a palaver, what an absolute treat, to watch a cat and its father pick a bone in the street!"

"Not a sound out of you," another snapped at him.

"Well, I told you I'd do it, told you I'd do it!" It was then that Eponine had let out the ear-splitting scream that made her father grab her tightly around the waist, snarling.

"Make for the sewers, go underground! Leave her to me, don't wait around!" He then glared down at his daughter. "You wait my girl, you'll rue this night. I'll make you scream, you'll scream all right!" With that, he shoved her away from him, hard, making her tumble to the ground roughly just before Cosette and Marius hurried towards her…

***End Flashback***

Cosette was trembling now. Eponine could have allowed her father and his men to rob them, or do something worse, but she hadn't. Was it because Marius had been with her, or had she been genuinely trying to protect Cosette and her father? What had Eponine's motives been? Her eyes narrowed. Either way, it was too late to do anything about it.

"Cosette?" she jumped slightly at the sound of her name, but relaxed as she recognized the voice.

"Marius!" she gasped before jumping into his arms.

**Great. Now I have to do One Day More. That will be either a walk through Hell or incredibly fun, what with all the viewpoint switches. Definitely going to do some Eponine and Joly brother/sister interactions first though, just to postpone that torture. Hope you enjoyed! REview please!**


	8. Chapter 7

**Warning: Contains a lot of POV changes :P Yes, I pulled it off. Barely. A chapter containing MOST of the lyrics to One Day More. And I have the beginnings of a headache to prove it...**

Chapter 7

Eponine ran down the streets of Paris, heading towards the Café Musain. She was very relieved when she – quite literally – ran into Joly.

"Eponine!" he gasped as she stepped back, looking slightly embarrassed, yet also somewhat relieved. "Are you all right?"

She opened her mouth to respond, then closed it again, shaking her head before she collapsed, sobbing, into his arms. Joly was startled.

"Eponine, what's wrong?" he asked her.

"Marius… Cosette… My father…" she managed to choke out, leaving Joly nearly as confused as he had been before.

"Shh, it's OK, 'Ponine, here, come inside," he told her gently before leading her into the Café Musain. The other students were shocked to see Joly leading her inside, Enjolras in particular, as he had been expecting Joly to return with Marius.

"Joly, I thought I asked you to go find Mar…" Enjolras began, his voice trailing off when he saw the state Eponine was in. "What did he do now?" he groaned, certain that this was Marius' fault. After they got her somewhat calmed down, she told them what happened.

"I was walking. Marius and Cosette were together. Then my father and his gang showed up…" After a while, the students eventually began to piece together her story. They all had grown to care about the girl after she had started accompanying Marius to their meetings on a very regular basis.

"Eponine, I know this is probably the last thing you want to talk about right now," Enjolras began, "but do you know where Marius is right now?"

"It's fine. It's mostly my father that had me so upset after his threat, rather than Marius. He's probably still with Cosette," she replied. "Why do you want to know?"

"Tomorrow is General LaMarque's funeral," Enjolras replied.

"Of course, the revolution. I'll go fetch him," Eponine offered, getting to her feet.

"Are you sure you want to?" Enjolras asked, concerned.

Eponine smiled. "It will only be too much fun to drag him away from Cosette," she replied with a small smirk.

Enjolras shrugged, and Eponine went out the door, and bolted towards number 55 Rue Plumet.

* * *

"Are you sure that you must leave?" Marius asked, eyes wide at Cosette's news.

"Yes, father insists," Cosettee replied sadly. "I have to go to England-"

"Marius!" Both Marius and Cosette turned to see a scrawny, dark-haired girl running towards them as if all Hell had just broken loose. "Marius!"

"Eponine?" Marius asked, startled to see her. "I thought you were leaving-"

"Marius… Enjolras… LaMarque… Funeral… Tomorrow… Barricade…" she gasped.

"What?" Marius asked, barely able to make sense of her words. She glared at him.

"You need to come with me. Now. Enjolras insists-" she started, but Marius cut her off.

"No!" Marius snapped. "Cosette has to go to England tomorrow, I want to spend as much time with her as I can."

Eponine's gaze turned deadly. "I just ran halfway across Paris to come find you; you are coming back to the café with me now!" she snarled, her hands balling up into fists. She noticed Cosette look rather startled out of the corner of her eye, and felt strangely pleased.

"Why on Earth would I do that?" Marius asked her. "Like I said, Cosette's leaving tomorrow!"

"Well then good luck to her on getting out of Paris in the middle of a revolution!" Eponine shrieked like a banshee. "Now let's go, Enjolras needs you!"

"Enjolras has waited his entire life for this moment, I'm sure he can wait a bit longer," Marius retorted, and Eponine stalked off, muttering something that sounded very vicious and insulting under her breath before slumping against a tree, quite obviously glaring at the couple.

Marius looked back at Cosette. "I can't believe you already have to leave. We've only just met."

"I know, it's so unfair," Cosette agreed, her gaze sorrowful. Marius nodded.

"I did not live until today. How can I live when we are parted?"

* * *

Eponine walked over to the tree that she had begun to refer to as 'her' tree, as every time she was there, she ended up sitting under it or leaning against it.

"Goddamn men, why do I even bother? Run all around Paris for him and find his 'true love' for him and all he does is yell at me? Ugh, men!" she muttered under her breath as she walked away. She folded her arms across her chest and plopped herself down on the grass, sitting against her tree, glaring viciously at the couple.

After a few moments, bits of their conversation drifted towards her.

"I did not live until today. How can I live when we are parted?" she heard Marius tell Cosette. Her heart froze. He hadn't lived until now? What about everything that she had done for him? She was the reason he had found Cosette!"

"Tomorrow you'll be worlds away, and yet with you my world has started…"

She felt a tear slide down her cheek. "One more day all on my own…" she murmured.

"Will we ever meet again?"

"One more day with him not caring!" She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

* * *

"I was born to be with you!" As they said the words, both Marius and Cosette knew it was true. Everything else in their lives hadn't mattered until they had met.

* * *

Eponine wrapped her arms around herself. "What a life I might have known…" she murmured.

"And I swear I will be true!"

"But he never saw me there!"

* * *

"One more day before the storm!" Enjolras announced to Les Amis. He glanced around quickly, looking to see if Eponine was back with Marius yet. She wasn't. Marius wasn't there either, naturally. Was he really that attached to the blonde?

* * *

"Do I follow where she goes?" Marius wondered to himself. Cosette had left to go help her father pack, and Eponine was quietly making her way towards him.

* * *

"At the barricades of freedom!" Where were they? Everyone else was there, and even Grantaire seemed relatively sober for once.

* * *

"Do I join my brothers there?" Marius glanced at Eponine, who kneeled beside him, meeting his eyes sympathetically.

Sympathy. How was she managing to show him sympathy when she had just heard him once again proclaim his true love for Cosette? No matter, just so long as she got him back to Enjolras in one piece.

* * *

"When our ranks begin to form," Enjolras looked again, but nothing had changed. Would Eponine manage to bring him back at all?

* * *

"Do I stay and do I dare?" Marius asked, more to Eponine than himself this time, and she gave him a reassuring glance.

* * *

"Will you take your place with me?" Enjolras asked his fellow students, who all gave cheers of assent.

"The time is now, the day is here!"

* * *

Eponine offered Marius her hand. She had to get him back to the café. Once he got interested in the revolution again, he would forget Cosette. This was her last chance to win him back.

"Come on, Marius. Your friends are waiting for you," she told him. "They need you."

He nodded, and took her hand, and together they ran back to the café.

They reached the café in about fifteen minutes, and could hear the yelling of the students from inside.

"One day to a new beginning!"

"Raise the flag of freedom high!"

"Every man will be a king!"

"There's a new world for the winning!"

"There's a new world to be one!"

"Do you hear the people sing?"

The shouts only grew louder as they joined with the other students. Marius immediately walked over to Enjolras and placed his hand on his shoulder. "My place is here. I fight with you!"

But despite his words, Eponine felt her heart sink as she saw the pain and sorrow in his eyes. He still only wanted Cosette.

* * *

Cosette sighed as she glanced out of her window. She would lose Marius forever. "I did not live until today…"

* * *

"One more day all on my own!" Eponine sobbed as she walked away from the café. Marius was going to go and get himself killed, and he didn't even care about her!

* * *

"How can I live when we are parted?" Cosette wondered as she turned away from the window. Eponine's words about a revolution came back to her. Perhaps she wouldn't have to leave after all. But what if Marius fought and died?

* * *

"Tomorrow you'll be worlds away!" Marius said to himself as his friends all celebrated the revolution that tomorrow would bring. But all he could think about was Cosette.

* * *

"What a life I might have known!" Eponine fell to the round, tears streaming down her face. Everything, all of her efforts to get Marius to notice her, to care about her, had been for nothing. He would never care about her. Not the way he cared about Cosette. Not now, not ever.

* * *

"And yet with you, my world has started…" Marius had a feeling that after tonight, he would never see Cosette again.

The cheers of his friends brought him out of his thoughts.

"Tomorrow we'll discover what our God in Heaven has in store! One more dawn… One more day… One day more!"

**Not to proud of the ending, but I can't think of any other way to end it. Andyway, a quick note to any angry Meponine fans... I will write a Meponine fanfic eventually, but I just don't have any good ideas for that pairing at the moment. But someday, I promise! *hides from angry Meponine fans***


	9. Chapter 8

**I cannot believe that I pulled off that last chapter and you all liked it. I must say that I have never been so proud of myself as I was in that moment, save for two occasions: 95% in math last year, and my history endtask essay this year (Mrs Benson actually went back to re-read it. I've never heard of any teacher, especially her, ever doing that). Anyway, it was the results of that chapter that gave me the courage to write this one. I'm not sure if Eponine is OOC in this chapter, but I would certainly do what she does in this chapter if I were her.  
**

Chapter 8

Eponine was grateful that Les Amis would be too busy preparing for their revolution to notice her absence as she curled up alone in an alley. She couldn't go home; that would be asking for death. Her father had vowed to make her scream and regret what she had done, and she liked being alive, even if her life was horrid.

It was then that she got her plan. She contemplated briefly if she would be able to sneak back into the inn and grab her boy clothes. If Marius was going to fight at the barricade; if all of her friends were going to, then so would she. She didn't care if she died, if her friends would fight and die there, then there would be nothing left to live for, anyway. And it was a nobler death than freezing, starving, or being beaten to a pulp by her father and/or Montparnasse.

But she'd have to get inside of the inn, first. Her father and his gang were probably so drunk they could barely stand by now; she had ruined the best plan they'd had in ages, and would be trying to drown out the sorrow of losing because a scrawny little girl like herself. But there was still the possibility that they would be too busy waiting for her to come back so they could get vengeance on her first. But it was worth the risk. She had nothing to lose, anyway.

So she got to her feet and began to carefully make her way down the street towards the inn.

"'Ponine!" She was so startled and frightened that she nearly screamed, but a large hand covered her mouth.

"Shh, it's just me. What in God's name are you doing out here?"

"Enjolras," she gasped, relieved. "I thought you might be- never mind."

"You thought I was your father or some member of his gang, you mean?" Enjolras questioned.

"Well, yes. They're expecting me," she muttered. It was probably true.

"Yes, I remember you mentioning his threat earlier when you were in complete hysterics," Enjolras commented. Eponine's cheeks burned red.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, 'Ponine. After an ordeal like that, anyone would be in hysterics," Enjolras assured her. "So my question is, why are you going back there?"

"Who said I was?" Eponine retorted. "How do you know I'm not just looking for a decent bit of shelter for the night?"

Enjolras opened his mouth to reply, and when he could think of nothing to say, shut it again, before blurting out the last thing Eponine had ever expected to hear.

"Why don't you stay with me tonight?" he asked her, and Eponine's jaw dropped open as she gaped at him as if he had just sprouted three heads and a pair of wings.

"What?" she asked after a minute of silence, completely stunned. Enjolras also seemed slightly surprised, as if he had not been planning on asking that.

"I, well, I have a second room that you could use, with a bed, and everything, it's where I keep Grantaire on the nights I don't trust him to find his own way home," Enjolras said quickly. "You can't go home tonight unless you want to die, and it's not safe on the streets-"

"I've slept in the streets before, Monsieur," Eponine snapped at him, forgetting that she was allowed to simply call him Enjolras in her frustration. "And I'm stronger than I look, which I thought I'd proven to you after helping you drag Grantaire home that night. I can take care of myself. I've held my own against my father and his gang before. Besides, you have your revolution to plan, don't trouble yourself with the likes of me," she said quickly to him before spinning on her heel to rush off again.

But Enjolras wouldn't let her. Instead, he grabbed her wrist, stopping her. He looked at her through narrowed eyes.

"You're planning something," he said. It wasn't a question, she could tell from his voice.

"Whatever are you talking about, Enjolras?" she asked innocently. There was no way she was going to simply let him figure out what she was doing.

"You're trying to find some way to get to the barricade tomorrow, aren't you?" he asked in response. Her eyes widened, and he looked exasperated. "Eponine, if you're planning to go there just because of Marius-"

"What's wrong?" she asked him, growing more frustrated by the second. "I thought you wanted the people to help, and I'm one of the people, aren't I?"

"Yes, I suppose, but I didn't mean foolish, lovesick little girls-"

"What?!" Her gaze immediately turned deadly as she glared at him, pulling her wrist out of his grip. "Foolish, lovesick little girl?" She took a step towards him, eyes blazing like flames. "Is _that_ what you think I am?"

Enjolras didn't respond, clearly unsure of how to deal with the problem that he had just created for himself.

"I have spent more time living on the streets, more or less fighting for my life each day, than any of you students have!" she yelled. "I know far more than any of you do about what it's like and how hard it is, so don't you _dare_ tell me that I'm not allowed to fight for what I believe in, whatever my reasons may be!"

And with that, she turned from him and ran as fast as she could, leaving behind a rather stunned and surprised Enjolras.

Eponine snuck inside the inn as quietly as a mouse, which wasn't hard because of how tiny she was. The hard part would be getting upstairs to her room. She could hear her father and his men from the kitchen, and her heart nearly stopped when they fell silent once she was halfway across the floor to the stairs, but then they laughed more loudly than ever. Clearly, someone had told a joke.

She nearly tripped over a knife that had been left on the floor, but she luckily spotted it in time. Thinking it might come in useful, she picked it up and continued to make her way towards the stairs, barely breathing for fear of being spotted. She moved as quickly and silently as she possibly could, listening carefully to the loud and obnoxious comments made by her father and his gang. The moment they stopped talking about – well, whatever it was they were talking about; it currently sounded like something about a goat giving birth to a chicken – would be the moment she had to stop and stay silent. That or make a break for it. For all she knew, she could die if she were discovered by them.

Somehow, the knowledge that her life was in danger excited her. She wasn't sure why, but she figured that it was probably the adrenaline spreading through her veins like a wildfire. She was momentarily grateful for all the time she had spent with Joly, as it meant she was learning stuff, but then she forced thoughts of him from her head. She had to focus on her task.

She made it up the old, rickety stairs with her heart pounding in her chest. Every time a stair creaked she would freeze in terror, which happened more often than not. But her father and his gang were, apparently, too drunk and loud to notice.

Once she made it up the stairs, she released the breath she hadn't realized she was holding and sighed with relief. Now she just had to go to her room, change, and somehow sneak out.

She tip-toed carefully down the hall to her room, and closed the door. Not willing to take any chances of being discovered, she moved her bed across the floor to block the door, which swung inward rather than outward. With the bed in the way, they would never get in and catch her. The room was dark, but she didn't care, even though it meant that she couldn't see too well. But she knew the room perfectly, as it was simple enough with only the bed and her few belongings which consisted of the gifts Marius and Joly had given her for her birthday the month before and her few clothes, and she'd stayed in the room every night since she'd arrived in Paris, save for a couple nights sleeping on the street when she didn't want to go home.

She had the momentary feeling that someone was watching her, but she ignored it. No one else was in the room with her, they were all downstairs drinking and shouting – save for her mother, who was probably asleep in the room she shared with her father.

She quickly shed her usual clothes, and grabbed her boy clothes. She pulled on her loose blouse and trousers, then reached for her long coat, and gasped in horror. It had moved. She had set it right beside her on the bed, but it was no longer there. She glanced across the room, and to her horror found Montparnasse staring at her as he held up her coat, visible only because her eyes were beginning to adjust to the darkness pierced only by the pale, dim light of the moon entering from the window.

"Looking for this?" he asked her dryly.

"What are you doing in here?" she hissed.

"I was waiting for you. I thought you might sneak in here. I'm glad to see that I was right," he said with a smirk. Then her narrowed

"Planning to rat me out to my father?" she asked him.

"Later, after I have my way with you."

"Never." And with that, she did the last thing she had ever expected herself to do. She grabbed her father's knife that she had picked up downstairs and lunged at him, punching him in the face as hard as she could before sinking the knife into his side. His head smacked against the wall rather loudly from the force of the blow, and he sank to the ground, dropping her coat, groaning in pain from the stab wound, barely conscious.

She heard a sudden commotion from downstairs and began to panic. She grabbed her coat and pulled it on as quickly as she could, then raced back to her bed, tossing the pillow aside and grabbing her small gifts. She was never coming back here again. She stuff the gifts into one of the deep pockets as she heard heavy footsteps on the stairs, and grabbed the blanket.

"You'll pay for this, 'Ponine," Montparnasse grimaced as he tried to sit up, leading Eponine to cross over to him and kick him in the face.

"That's for everything you've ever done to me," Eponine hissed before walking back to the window. She inspected the drop. It wasn't too far down. She tried to find something to tie the blanket to in order to use it to try to climb down, and settled on one of the few remaining steel bars that had once kept people from so much as sticking their heads out the window.

She figured that the bars had been a safety measure of the inn, as it was a common place for people to go to get drunk. She pictured Grantaire there, drunk as usual, and figured it was a good idea. The last thing an inn needed was a reputation for having drunk people plummet to their deaths through a window. And now the bars would be helping her escape. She tied the blanket to the bar as quickly as she could, then began to climb down as she heard her father pounding on the door, trying to get in.

When she heard a huge bang and a crash, she realized that they had gotten into what had once been her room, and her heart nearly stopped in fear as she heard a shout of outrage – they had, no doubt, spotted Montparnasse. She released the sheet, falling the last two feet from the window to the ground and sprinted as fast as she could after a brief pause to catch her breath. She was never going back to that place ever again.

**So, like I said. Eponine may or may not be OOC, I really don't know, but if I were her, I'd probably try to kill 'Parnasse.**

**Oh, and before I forget, TheClassof1832 has some great Les Mis fanfics. I've really enjoyed reading them, and you guys should check them out! They're part of why I like Enjolras so much (those fanfics, a couple others, and of course Ramin Karimloo).  
**


	10. Chapter 9

**Sorry that this chapter isn't all that great. It's really more of a filler.  
**

Chapter 9

Eponine leaned against a wall, clutching her cap tightly in her hands, her long hair falling down her back and over her shoulders. She was struggling to regain control of her breathing.

She wondered if she had killed Montparnasse. Probably not, she figured; her father and the rest of his gang would try their best to fix him up. All she had succeeded in doing was escaping and making all of them, particularly her father and 'Parnasse, angry. Very angry. She wasn't sure which of them she should fear more, but she didn't fancy a run-in with either of them any time soon, or any time at all, for that matter.

She looked up at the sky. It was still very dark, but she knew it would soon become light. She wondered how the students were spending what was quite possibly their last night. She stepped away from the wall and began walking down the street, towards the alley she had been in before. She knew that it was a decent place to sleep, and she would certainly need some if she was going to fight with the students.

She was halfway down the alley when she spotted what looked like a familiar figure leaning against a wall, weeping quietly.

It was a girl, and a very scrawny one at that, with long, tangled blonde hair that was rather dirty. Eponine felt her blood run cold as she felt the faintest bit of recognition. It couldn't be…

"Azelma?" she asked softly, and the girl raised her head. Eponine gasped as she recognized her sister, and took a few steps forward and knelt in front of her. "Oh, Azelma, are you all right?"

"Eponine?" Eponine nodded as her sister recognized her.

"Yes, it's me. Oh, what happened to you?" she asked, pulling her sister into a hug.

"I had no choice, 'Ponine, I had to sell myself. It was the only way to earn enough money to stay alive."

"I'm so sorry 'Zelma. I should have been there to protect you and save you from that…"

"Don't blame yourself, 'Ponine," Azelma replied, tears running down her face. "We both know that no matter what, it would have had to happen eventually…" Azelma looked at her sister, and saw blood on her clothes. "Eponine, what happened to you? There's blood…"

"Don't worry, Azelma, it's not mine," Eponine replied, her mind flashing back to the look of pain and horror that had been on Montparnasse's face when she had stabbed him.

"Then who-"

"Montparnasse."

Azelma's eyes widened. "Did you-"

"He's not dead, I might be if he ever catches hold of me again," Eponine said with a grimace. "Assuming that I last through tomorrow, that is."

"Eponine, you can't be serious, are you actually planning to-"

"Yes, Azelma, I'm joining the students," Eponine answered her sister before Azelma could even finish the question.

"But, why?"

"They're my friends. And besides, now that I've escaped from father, I may as well do something worthwhile before he and his gang find me and kill me, which we both know will happen," Eponine replied with a smile that was half-forced.

Azelma smiled at her sister. "I suppose you're right, but 'Ponine, please promise me that you will be careful."

Eponine nodded. "Don't worry, Azelma. Now that we've found each other again, I will do everything I can to get out alive, just so that we can see each other and talk again, even if only for a little while."

Azelma nodded, and stood, as did Eponine. The two sisters looked at each other for a moment before hugging again.

"It's so good to see you again," Eponine whispered. Azelma nodded before they separated.

"I should go," Azelma whispered. "They'll be expecting me back…" She didn't have to finish the sentence for Eponine to understand before nodding.

"Take care of yourself, 'Zelma," she said as Azelma began to walk away.

"You too, 'Ponine. I love you," Azelma told her sister as she turned to leave.

"I love you too," Eponine whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek. _I should have protected her from this fate. I never wanted this life for her. That should be me, not her. Not Azelma…_ She squeezed her eyes shut, knowing logically that there was nothing that she could have done. Besides, she had to worry about keeping herself alive through the night and the next day, which she couldn't do if she kept focussing on Azelma. She owed it to her sister to get out alive so they could see each other again, like she had promised.

She soon found a place that was somewhat sheltered and lay down, wrapping her coat tightly around her and using her cap as a pillow, and drifted off into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Enjolras grimaced as he walked around his flat. He didn't know why, but he couldn't stop thinking about Eponine. She had seemed very upset when he had met her earlier that night, and he was afraid that she would do something rash and get herself hurt.

Furthermore, he was concerned about why he was caring so much about her. He didn't even know the girl very well. Really, all he knew about her was that she was followed Marius around like a lovesick, lost little puppy, she was Gavroche's older sister, her father forced her to whore herself for money, she frequently had bruises, Joly thought of her as a little sister, and many others amongst Les Amis enjoyed her company.

She was also resourceful, witty, was capable of putting Grantaire in his place, and, he had to admit to himself, really quite pretty. But that was all. He had had perhaps five actual conversations with her, and only one hadn't ended with her being furious with him, although it had been made awkward by Grantaire's drunken comments.

He sighed, and shook his head. He had to get the girl off his mind. She wasn't that important to him, anyway. He barely knew her, so why should he care so much, even if half the time he was around her he felt a fluttery feeling in his stomach, which, he grudgingly admitted to himself, was the way Marius claimed to feel when around Cosette.

Could he be starting to fall for the Thenardier girl? No, not possible. Patria was his one love. Eponine was just a girl who was a good representation of what he was fighting for. Nothing more.

He hoped.

**I sincerely hope you didn't think that this chapter was as bad as I thought it was. I just really wanted to put in a reunion between Eponine and Azelma, and have one more update before starting with the revolution.**

**Anyway, you probably all don't care much about my life, so long story short: Until I stop being mad at the government or find a way to control my anger enough to write decently, not sure how often I'll be updating. And exams are gonna be a problem for the next two weeks too... Don't expect a ton of updates.  
**


	11. Chapter 10

**Here's the action you've all been waiting for! And no, I do not mean romantic action between Eponine and Enjolras. None of that here whatsoever. I mean action action.**

Chapter 10

Eponine awoke early the next day, and instantly remembered what had happened the night before. She bit her lip. She hoped that Montparnasse wouldn't find her any time soon.

She saw and heard people rushing down the streets, and every conversation had the same two words: 'LaMarque' and 'funeral'. Her eyes widened. LaMarque's funeral would be today, and soon, by the looks of it. The revolution was today.

She reached into the coat pocket and pulled out one of the few things she had brought with her; the comb from Joly. She began to pull it through her hair, wondering how she would tie her hair up so it would fit better under her cap. Her blouse was rather tattered, she decided, so she could tear a strip off to use like a ribbon, which she did, and pulled her hair back, tying the strip of material in a bow before pulling the long ponytail up on top of her head and pulling the cap on over top. She held up her small mirror, and gazed at her reflection.

She figured that she looked convincing enough. But, then again, Cosette had recognized her despite having being apart for so long, and Les Amis knew her well. But in the midst of battle, they would be too distracted to look closely. At least, she hoped they would. She bit her lip. It didn't matter. Once she was there amongst them, there wouldn't be much that they could do about it. All she had to do was look convincing enough to get in. From there, she would be all set.

_And perhaps this will show Marius just how much I care about him, and make him see at last…_

With a sigh, she stood and made her way towards where LaMarque's funeral procession would be to join the others.

The streets were quickly becoming packed, something that she couldn't help but notice as she fought her way through the crowds. Within half an hour, she found a spot where she would have a good view, and she quickly spotted familiar faces.

Marius, Enjolras gripping what looked like a red flag, and Joly she spotted instantly, and not long after she saw Grantaire, Prouvaire, Lesgle, Feuilly, Combeferre, Courfeyrac, and Bahorel. All of them were there. To her relief, there was no sign of Gavroche, but then her heart leaped to her throat. No, her brother was there, right beside Enjolras, only just getting there from the looks of it.

She had half a mind to run over and send him off instantly, but then they would know it was her. There was nothing she could do about it.

The sound of hooves clopping forced her to turn and look in the other direction, and she saw the National Guard approaching. Her breath caught in her throat. It was time.

Enjolras heard the horses approaching and turned to look, the red flag gripped tightly in one hand. The National Guard was approaching at the head of the funeral procession. He glanced around, taking note of where his fellow revolutionaries stood. Bahorel, Marius, Comebeferre, Courfeyrac, Grantaire, Lesgle, Feuilly, Joly, Jean Prouvaire… Gavroche was at his side… He narrowed his eyes as he looked almost immediately across from him. There was a person there, gazing at him… No, just to his left, at Gavroche. There was obvious concern and worry in the person's eyes. It was a young man, barely more than a boy, and he looked familiar… Almost identical to Eponine…

"Gavroche, do you have any siblings other than Eponine and Azelma?" Enjolras asked, not looking away from the boy.

"No, Enjolras, it's just the three of us. Why are you asking that now?" Gavroche asked, looking up at Enjolras, who turned to look down at Gavroche.

"No reason, I just thought I-" he looked up, and found that the person had vanished, and forced the thought from her head. "It's not important."

"I saw her too, that was no boy, Enjolras. That was my sister, I'm sure of it," Gavroche told Enjolras. "Probably figured the only way she would be able to fight with you was to disguise herself so you wouldn't recognize her 'til it was too late."

Enjolras looked back at Gavroche, eyes wide with shock. "You can't be serious!"

Gavroche nodded. "Don't bother trying to stop her, Enjolras. She's got a mind of her own. Besides, it's too late now."

Enjolras nodded, knowing the boy was right. He forced Eponine from his mind. If she wanted to fight for her rights, he knew it would be wrong to stop her. Besides, now was not the time to think about that. He continued to watch as the procession drew nearer, and he caught a glimpse of LaMarque's coffin drawing close. He clutched his flag more tightly. It was almost time.

* * *

Eponine knew that Enjolras and Gavroche had recognised her. Well, perhaps not Enjolras, but Gavroche definitely had. And from the way Gavroche and Enjolras had been talking while looking at her, she knew that Gavroche was letting Enjolras know. The second Enjolras had looked away, she had moved, walking further down the street, away from the approaching procession. She stopped a few feet further down, at a place where, she sensed, she would have a perfect view of the impending action.

Only two short minutes later she was proven right; the coffin passed right in front of her as she heard Enjolras' voice shout something, and he ran forward, leaping onto the coffin, holding the red flag high as the rest of Les Amis followed suit.

"Liberté! Égalité! Fraternité!" Enjolras shouted as Marius joined him on the coffin, pulling out a gun. Eponine's eyes widened. Was the battle going to start here, right now?

She looked back at the National Guard. There were so many of them, the students were greatly outnumbered… But the National Guard seemed slightly unsure of what to do… at first. She then saw them pulling out their guns, preparing to shoot.

Enjolras and Marius stared at them defiantly for a few moments. Eponine held her breath, just like everyone else seemed to be. Then Enjolras raised the flag high again. "Vive la republique!" he yelled, and all of Les Amis cheered, as did a few other people, almost none of whom were bourgeois.

Then Enjolras looked around at Les Amis before shouting again. "To the barricade!"

**There you go. Revolution is here. Review please; they make my day.**


	12. Chapter 11

**This chapter was a hassle to write, and I barely made it to a thousand words. Furthermore, as you can tell by me updating so much despite saying not to expect any, I am procrastinating. Seriously procrastinating. But this is way more fun. But fun doesn't exactly justify badd grades, so... yeah... **

Chapter 11

Eponine ran after the rest of Les Amis de l'ABC as they rushed to the place where they planned to put up their barricade, and began to help them build it.

Furniture was thrown from windows and piled up in the streets, carriages were knocked over and added to the mound. Eponine glanced around at the people there, and was surprised at how many strangers she saw amongst the group. More had joined them than she had expected, and she was not at all surprised to see that none of them belonged to the bourgeoisie.

She glanced up at the sky. It had been noon when LaMarque's funeral procession had begun, she knew, and it had been a few hours since they had started building their barricade. She'd heard talk of a few other barricades being erected as well. She wrapped her arms around herself tightly. How long would it be before they all died? She had a feeling that there wouldn't possibly be any other outcome, unless they got extremely lucky.

"Eponine, what are you doing here?" she heard a familiar voice ask her quietly, and she felt a strong hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to see Enjolras.

"I have just as much of a right to fight here as you do," she replied stubbornly. Other women are here, so why you tried to convince me to stay away last night is beyond me." She glared at him stubbornly.

"Does Marius know you're here?" Enjolras asked her.

"Of course not, he'd only try to send me away," she replied. She bit her lip and looked down. _And not because he cares about me and doesn't want to lose me…_ she added to herself mentally.

Enjolras sighed, noticing the sad expression on her face. He fought back the sudden, inexplicable urge to pull her into his arms and comfort her, then track down Pontmercy and deck him. Such thoughts were irrational, and this was certainly not the place for them. "Your brother told me not to bother to send you away from here, 'Ponine, and I agree with him, you wouldn't listen if I tried; but please, I beg of you, try to be careful."

Eponine looked back up at him, her eyes narrowing. "And why do you care so much?"

Enjolras tried to think of a response, but found that he couldn't. Not one that he liked, at least. He sighed and shook his head trying to think of something. She looked at him, waiting for an answer. He knew he had no choice. "Because I- I think that I-" he cut himself off as Marius approached them, headed straight for Eponine.

"Hey, little boy-" Marius began, then stopped, staring at Eponine in shock. "What's this I see?" He pulled off Eponine's cap, letting her long ponytail fall back down her back. Furious, she grabbed her cap from his hands and stuffed her ponytail back into it, concealing her long hair beneath it.

"God Eponine, the things you do!" Marius groaned.

"I know this is no place for me," she snapped, "still, I would rather be with you!" Eponine frowned for a second as Enjolras rolled his eyes and walked away.

"Get out before the trouble starts!" Marius told her, grabbing her by the shoulder. "Get out 'Ponine, you might get shot!"

She smiled happily. "I've got you worried now, I have!" she laughed. "That shows you like me quite a lot!" To her annoyance, Marius ignored her, instead suddenly looking pleased with himself, clearly having thought of something. Eponine hoped that it didn't have anything to do with Cosette

"There is a way that you can help!" Marius said happily, and Eponine's face lit up. "You are the answer to a prayer!" Eponine felt her heart begin to soar. "Please take this letter to Cosette, and pray to God that she's still there." He patted her shoulder, not needing an answer to know that she would do it, and walked away.

Once again, she felt her heart sink as a tear slipped down her cheek. "Little you know…" she murmured, and turned away. "Little you care…"

She sighed, knowing that she had to deliver the letter, and began to walk away from the barricade that was still being built.

"Eponine!" she felt a strong hand once again upon her shoulder, and turned her head to once again find Enjolras behind her. She sighed in annoyance

"Not now, Enjolras," she told him, trying to keep herself together. "I have to deliver this letter to Marius' beloved little angel!" She couldn't hide the venom in her voice, and saw Enjolras flinch ever so slightly at her deadly tone.

"I know Eponine, but I never did finish what I was saying earlier-" he began, but she quickly cut him off. She didn't want to cry in front of anyone, especially not him, and she had a horrid feeling that she was about to.

"It doesn't matter Enjolras," she replied. "I don't care!" He grabbed her wrist, determined to make her listen, knowing that she did care about what he had to say, but was denying it out of pride. He could tell from her voice that she did care. She clearly cared very much. And not only that, but she was obviously hurting.

"Eponine, please-"

"No Enjolras, just let me go!" she hissed, pulling her wrist free before sprinting away.

"Eponine!" he called after her, but she ignored him. He swore quietly to himself and tried to follow her, almost certain he heard her fighting back a sob. He gave up after a few moments, deciding it was better to just let her go. Besides, he was needed at the barricade.

He sighed in frustration. What had he been thinking, anyways? Eponine obviously was still completely in love with Marius, so why bother admitting to her – admitting to himself – that over the past week, no, months, he had begun to fall for her? How could he ever admit that he now loved her?

***Stops hiding from Meponine fans and stands on barricade, rifle raised* You attack me over pairings, and I will defend myself. Kapiche? And also, please review, they make me happy!**** *fluffy black warrior cat from _Warriors_ fandom tackles me to ground*  
**

**Hollyleaf: Stop neglecting our stories! *to readers* don't expect any more updates for awhile... *drags me away to work on Rising Night*  
**


	13. Chapter 12

**So, I updated Rising Night, and because of that Hollyleaf let me go temporarily, so I managed to do this chapter. The condition being that I balance this and Rising Night more evenly.  
**

Chapter 12

Eponine sighed as she walked down the streets of Paris. She couldn't ignore the loud shouts and yells of young men and women, or the sight of more barricades being built. National guardsmen were running all over, no doubt gathering as much information as they could.

She prayed that Cosette and her 'father' had left, and that if they hadn't, she wouldn't have to speak to Cosette for too long.

It was getting dark when she arrived at the house on Rue Plumet. She saw no one outside, so she pushed gently on the gate and it swung open. She stepped into the garden, and made her way towards the door, her heart hammering in her chest. She continued to cling to the hope that Cosette would be gone as she knocked on the door, but her heart sank as a man opened the door. It was Cosette's adoptive father.

"I have a letter, m'sieur," she began quietly. "It's addressed to your daughter, Cosette." The man looked rather surprised, and Eponine guessed that Cosette still had yet to tell him about Marius. "I- it's from a boy, at the barricade, sir, in the Rue de Villette."

The man's face was pale as he gazed at Eponine. "Give me that letter; here, my boy," he said, holding out his hand.

Eponine bit her lip, tempted to just give it to him and leave, but Marius had told her to give the letter to Cosette, and he might not want Cosette's father to see it.

"He said to give to Cosette," she choked out, remembering Marius' face when he had given her the letter.

Cosette's father gazed at her intently and sternly. "You have my word that my daughter will know what this letter contains," he assured her. "Tell the young man she will read it tomorrow, and here is for your pains." He handed her a franc, and she nodded gratefully before turning to walk away.

"Go careful now, stay out of sight," he warned her as she left. "There's danger in the streets tonight…"

Eponine stopped when the door closed, and shut her eyes, a tear falling down her cheek. Why couldn't Cosette and her father be long gone now? Why had they needed to stay a day longer? She wrapped her arms around herself and left Number 55 Rue Plumet, not sure exactly where she was headed. For some bizarre reason though, she found herself once again leaning against her tree.

She tried to force the thought of Marius from her mind, but she couldn't stop replaying his face in her head. His face when he had asked her to take the letter to Cosette, both excited that he might be able to get one last letter to her, but heartbroken that Cosette may already be on her way to England. And he hadn't even looked a little concerned about Eponine's own safety in running through Paris with a revolution beginning…

"Well, well, well, what have we here? Little Eponine playing make-believe again?"

She looked up, and glowered at the face of a man she had thought and hoped she had killed the night before.

"Montparnasse. Up and about again already?" she asked him.

"You're lucky you didn't cause me any serious injury. But really, Eponine, next time you may want to aim better if you want to kill someone. Another centimetre to the left and you would have missed me all together," Montparnasse said with a smirk.

She noted that he was walking with a slight limp, and he kept one hand on the side that she had stabbed.

"I'll remember that the next time you get too close," Eponine told him through gritted teeth, grasping the handle of the knife she'd stolen from her father.

"Too close?" Montparnasse asked her. "Oh, I plan on getting plenty close to you after last night. Just you wait until I get my vengeance…"

Eponine sighed. Montparnasse had clearly forgotten in his anger that she was faster than him. And with his wound to slow him down, she could easily shake him off in just a few short minutes.

"All right, come and get me then," she taunted, standing up and then turning to run as fast as she could. She didn't look back for a good ten minutes, by which time she had made her way to the river. 'Parnasse was gone, and she was alone.

She sighed. "And now I'm all alone again," she murmured. "Nowhere to turn no one to go to," she glanced up at the sky, a tear falling down her cheek. "Without a home, without a friend, without a face to say hello to…" she smiled, picturing Marius. "And now the night is near, now I can make believe he's here." She began to walk along the river. "Sometimes I walk along at night when everybody else is sleeping," she said, wondering why exactly she was talking to herself, but continuing anyways. It made her feel safe, somehow, and less alone. "I think of him and then I'm happy with the company I'm keeping…" She sighed, wrapping her arms around herself, and pretended it was Marius holding her, even though she knew it wasn't. "The city goes to bed…" She smiled. "And I can live inside my head."

She walked slowly along the river side as a steady rain began to fall, with a half-hearted smile on her face. "On my own, pretending he's beside me," she sang softly to herself, "all alone, I walk with him 'til morning. Without him, I feel his arms around me," she once again wrapped her arms around herself, pretending it was Marius. "And when I lose my way I close my eyes and he has found me!"

"In the rain, the pavement shines like silver, and all the lights are misty in the river. In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight, and all I see is him and me forever and forever!" She stopped walking for a moment, and stood still, catching sight of her reflection in the river, tears once again beginning to slide down her cheeks. "And I know it's only in my mind; that I'm talking to myself and not to him..." She bit her lip, trying hard to keep control of herself. "And although, I know that he is blind, still I say… there's a way for us."

She started trembling, and began to walk again, determined not to cry. "I love him, but when the night is over he is gone, the river's just a river. Without him, the world around me changes! The trees are bare and everywhere the streets are full of strangers!"

She felt as though her heart was breaking. Marius didn't love her. He'd never loved her, and never would. Not the way she loved him. With a gasp, she collapsed against a tree, still struggling not to cry.

"I love him! But every day I'm learning that all my life, I've only been pretending! Without me, his world will go on turning! A world that's full of happiness that I have never known!" She gasped, wrapping her arms tightly around herself as she sat on the ground, her back against the tree, trembling as she tried hard not to cry.

"I love him," she sobbed. "I love him… I love him… But only on my own…"


	14. Chapter 13

**Two updates in one day! I'm impressed. And seriously hoping that my internet keeps behaving, although the way it's been on again off again all week, I have faith that it won't... Thank you for the reviews to the last chapter, as always, they were much appreciated.**

Chapter 13

"Now we pledge ourselves to hold this barricade!"

"Let them come in their legions and they will be met!" Marius yelled.

"Have faith in yourselves and don't be afraid," Enjolras told his men. It had begun to grow dark by then. Enjolras was glad that Eponine hadn't returned, of course, he wasn't sure where Cosette lived, so for all he knew, the girl could be on her way back.

"Let's give 'em a screwing they'll never forget!" Grantaire shouted suddenly, the drunk's voice pulling Enjolras out of his thoughts.

"This is where it begins!" Combeferre shouted.

"And if I should die in the fight to be free," Courfeyrac joined in, "where the fighting is hardest, there will I be!"

"Let them come if they dare!" Feuilly yelled. "We'll be there!"

* * *

Eponine ran through the streets of Paris, back towards the barricade. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she went. She had to go back. She didn't know why, but somehow, she did want to know what Enjolras had wanted to tell her.

But more than that, she wanted to see Marius one last time.

"You at the barricade listen to this!" she heard a loud voice yell. "No one is coming to help you to fight!" _Wrong,_ she thought, _I'm going!_ "You're on your own, you have no friends, give up your guns – or die!"

Her heart nearly stopped at those words. _Die_. They couldn't die! She bit her lip. The barricade was in sight, all she had to do now was reach it and climb over.

"Bravo little Gavroche, you're the top of the class!" Grantaire praised Eponine's younger brother, as Enjolras glared at Inspector Javert. He had volunteered to help them, and now he had betrayed them. He was furious.

"So what are we going to do with this snake in the grass?" Jean Prouvaire asked.

"Tie this man and take him to the tavern in there," Enjolras replied. "The people will decide your fate, inspector Javert!"

Courfeyrac spat. "Take the bastard now and shoot him!" he suggested.

Feuilly nodded. "Let us watch the devil dance!"

Lesgles nodded in agreement as well. "You'd have done the same inspector if we'd let you have your chance!"

Javert simply glared at them all. "Shoot me now or shoot me later, every schoolboy to his sport! Death to each and every traitor! I renounce your people's court," he spat.

Combeferre glared back. "Though we may not all survive here, there are things that never die!"

Grantaire snorted. "What's the difference, die a schoolboy, die a policeman, die a spy?"

Enjolras shook his head. "Take this man, bring him through, there is work we have to do!"

A gunshot rang out then, yet no one seemed injured. Rather, they all seemed confused, until they heard Joly shout.

"There's a boy climbing the barricade!" Joly yelled as another shot rang out. Enjolras saw a capped head poking out over the top of the barricade. He felt his blood run cold. _Please don't be Eponine…_

* * *

Eponine flinched as she heard a gunshot ring out, the bullet only just missing her. She began to climb faster.

"There's a boy climbing the barricade!" she heard Joly yell, and looked up to see him looking down at her, just a couple feet away. He turned away, no doubt to see what the others were doing, just as another shot rang out as she turned to look behind her. This time the bullet hit her in the chest, to the left, nearly striking her shoulder instead. She gasped in pain, but kept going. She reached up and grasped Joly's hand. He didn't seem to recognize her, but it was a bit dark by then, and he'd never seen her in boy clothes. He was also probably rather distracted.

"It's fine!" she heard Marius yell. He'd spotted her and recognized her. She felt her heart soar. "I know him!"

Joly helped her down the barricade, and then walked off towards Enjolras, who gave him a quick order, and he then headed off towards the café.

Eponine, however, went straight towards Marius, who grabbed her roughly by the shoulder.

"Good God, what are you doing?" he hissed. "'Ponine, have you no fear?" His gaze softened suddenly. "Have you seen my beloved? Why have you come back here?"

Eponine shook her head, trying to make sense of all his questions. She suddenly felt quite dizzy, and she wondered why. Something had hit her while she'd been climbing. A bullet, she realized.

"Took the letter, like you said," she said slowly. "I met her father at the door. He said he would give it…" she shook her head suddenly. "I don't think I can stand anymore!" she gasped, collapsing into Marius' arms, her cap falling from her head, letting her long hair fall out. The ribbon she'd tied it with had long since come loose and it was no longer in a ponytail, so it fell wildly around her face and down her back.

She felt so weak all of a sudden. But Marius was holding her now… Everything would be all right…

Enjolras watched as Joly helped the boy down the barricade. But was it really a boy? What if it were Eponine? No, she wouldn't come back, he tried to reason. She couldn't.

"Enjolras, is there anything you'd like me to do?" Joly asked suddenly, pulling Enjolras from his thoughts. He hadn't even realized that the medical student had left the barricade and approached him.

"Oh, yes, go to the café and set up a temporary hospital there. We'll have need of your medical talent before the night is through," he told the student. Joly nodded, and left as he had requested.

He then turned to Courfeyrac, and began to talk quietly with his friend until they heard a pained gasp. "I don't think I can stand anymore!" It wasn't a boy's voice; both of them knew that at once. Enjolras saw Courfeyrac's eyes grow wide, and saw him turn, but Enjolras was reluctant to do so. He knew that it must be Eponine, but turning and seeing her would make it more real. But he would have to look, he knew he had to. He turned, and saw the girl fall into Marius' arms, her cap falling from her head, revealing her long hair.

He felt his body fill with dread as he remembered the gunshots that had preceded Joly's shout. Eponine had been shot.

* * *

Marius held her, surprised, and began to kneel, pulling her down with him. "Eponine, what's wrong?" he asked as she looked up at him. She didn't reply, she was too content to simply lie silently in his arms. His hand reached up to brush her hair out of her face. "There's something wet upon your hair…" he said, looking puzzled, then horror filled his eyes. "Eponine, you're hurt, you need some help-" his hands pulled her jacket open, and his eyes widened in terror. "Oh God- it's everywhere!"

Eponine gazed at him in confusion. What on Earth was he talking about? She looked down, and saw the blood on her clothes, and understood. She had been shot, yet somehow, she could barely remember. Her mind felt fuzzy, and for some reason, despite the fact that she was hurt, she didn't feel anything. She figured it would be a good idea to let him know.

"Don't you fret, m'sieur Marius," she said softly, pulling her coat closed again. "I- I don't feel any pain… A little fall of rain… Can hardly hurt me now. You're here," she smiled up at him, trying to reassure him that she was all right. "That's all I need to know. And you will keep me safe. And you will keep me close. And rain… Will make the flowers grow."

Marius pulled her close, holding her tightly in his arms, suddenly understanding from her words. She loved him. What had he done? "But you will live, 'Ponine, dear God above… If I could close your wounds with words of love…"

Eponine smiled, leaning her head upon his chest. "Just hold me now… and let it be… Shelter me, comfort me…"

"You would live a hundred years, if I could show you how," Marius vowed, a tear falling down his cheek. "I won't desert you now."

Eponine smiled up at him. "The rain can't hurt me now," she assured him. "This rain will wash away what's past! And you will keep me safe, and you will keep me close. I'll sleep in your embrace at last!" She tried to sit up, by now entirely delirious. "The rain that brings you here is heaven blest!" She drew in a shuddering breath and fell back in Marius' arms again, and he pulled her closer to him. She gazed up at him, one hand resting on his shoulder, the other on his chest as he cradled her in his arms. "The skies begin to clear and I'm at rest…"

* * *

Enjolras watched as Eponine deliriously spoke to Marius. She was dying. He couldn't believe it. Not Eponine. Not the first girl he'd met that he had ever truly cared about. "Mon sang se glace dans mes veines," he whispered as he watched.

"A breath away from where you are… I've come home from so far." Her grip on Marius' shoulder tightened, and Enjolras found himself wishing he were the one holding Eponine then.

* * *

The two were suddenly speaking at the same time, Eponine repeating what she had already told him, while Marius did his best to comfort her. Eponine wasn't even sure what she was saying then, all she cared about were Marius' words.

"Hush-a-bye, dear Eponine," Marius told her gently, "you won't feel any pain. A little fall of rain can hardly hurt you now…" Eponine gasped for breath for a moment. "I'm here," Marius told her, stroking her cheek.

"That's all I need to know," Eponine replied weakly. "And you will keep me safe…"

"I will stay with you til you are sleeping…" Marius murmured.

"And you will keep me close. And rain…"

"And rain…" Marius whispered.

"Will make the flowers…"

"Will make the flowers…" Marius repeated her words, and Eponine tried desperately to pull herself up, their lips nearly touching, and then everything went dark and she felt herself falling back, away from Marius.

* * *

"…Grow." Marius said glumly as Eponine fell limp in his arms.

Enjolras stared in horror, unsure of what to do. Before his eyes, Eponine had tried to kiss Marius right before she died, then had fallen limp, dropping like a bird that had struck a window. But she couldn't be dead. She couldn't be…

"Eponine," Marius said, shaking her. "Eponine!" He shook her again, clearly trying to get her to respond, but nothing happened. "No. No!" He pulled her up, crushing her limp body to his chest, and kissing her forehead, tears falling down his face.

"She is the first to fall…" Enjolras whispered. "The first of us to fall upon this barricade…"

"Her name was Eponine… Her life was cold and dark, yet she was unafraid," Marius said softly.

"We fight here in her name," Combeferre said softly, putting a hand on Marius' shoulder.

"She will not die in vain," Jean agreed.

"She will not be betrayed," Lesgles put in, nodding as Enjolras walked forward and lifted the small girl's limp frame from Marius' arms. He was amazed at how tiny and light she was, despite being dead weight. As he carried her away to the café, he noticed something, a slight rise and fall in her chest, as if she might still be breathing. The bullet had missed her heart… Maybe there was still a chance that she might be alive. He walked faster, and shoved the door of the café open, startling Joly.

"Enjolras!" Joly gasped. "You nearly gave me a-" he stopped, staring at the limp body in his arms. "No, not Eponine…"

"I think she might still be alive," Enjolras replied. "Please, Joly, if there's any chance that she can live, save her!"

Joly stared at Enjolras for a moment. "You really care for her, don't you?" he asked.

Enjolras shrugged, not sure of how to respond, then nodded before leaving Eponine with Joly. He cared about Eponine more than he wanted to, and he knew it. He desperately wanted Eponine to live. He _needed_ her to live. Whether he liked it or not, he had somehow fallen in love with her.

**For Enjy's French line in there, I 'borrowed' Marius' line from Le Grand Jour, the French version of One Day more. **

**Mon sang se glace dans mes veines-My blood runs cold in my veins/My blood is ice in my veins (same thing)**


	15. Chapter 14

**Here you go! An update! And no I did not procrastinate with studying to write this. I spent half the afternoon studying with a friend (while he and I sang along to Wicked) so there. I studied for exams, AND I am updating. Hah!  
**

**Edit: Forgot to include the line breaks for the changes in POV earlier. Sorry :P At least something good came of me having a nightmare about chickens and tapdancing spiders resulting in me waking up at 2:30 in the morning and reading over my work :P Also, this story passed 100 reviews! No wonder the spiders were tapdancing. Must've been celebrating.**

Chapter 14

Eponine was rather surprised to find that she could hear voices. Were they angels, perhaps? The next thing she was aware of was that she was lying on a rather uncomfortable table, with a thin sheet covering her. Then she felt the pain in her chest. No, she wasn't dead. Not yet.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and turned her head to see Marius sitting alone, looking sad. They were inside the Café Musain, she realized. _Is it because of me? Is he worried about me?_ She wondered as Marius remained while the others left.

As she watched, he stood and walked towards a window. "Do I care if I should die now that she goes across the sea?" she heard him say to himself. _Nope. Not me. Cosette again. I should've known._

"Life without Cosette means nothing at all. Would you weep Cosette should Marius fall? Would you weep, Cosette, for me?"

Eponine turned away from him to gaze at the ceiling again for a moment before once again losing consciousness, feeling as though her heart were completely shattered. _He never saw me there… And he never will…_

* * *

It was many hours before Enjolras returned to the Café Musain from the barricade. By the time he did, Marius had long since fallen asleep, a pitiful expression on his face. Enjolras scowled. He was probably dreaming about Collette, or Cassette, or whatever her name was.

He turned to look at Eponine. So far, she was the only serious injury they'd had, by some miracle of luck.

There had been other injuries, of course; a man who had gotten shot through the leg, another with a shot to the shoulder, but Eponine was the worst so far.

She was fast asleep now, her dark auburn hair spread wildly around her head, a look of fear on her pale face. She whimpered, and rolled over, curling into a ball.

Enjolras walked over to her, and brushed a lock of hair from her face before grasping one of her hands in his. He squeezed his eyes shut. _Why did she have to come back here? She should have stayed away! If she dies, I'll never forgive myself!_

He remembered the first time he'd met her. It felt so long ago now…

_"Hey, Marius, who's your friend there?" he heard Courfeyrac ask. He tried to ignore the talking as he focussed on a speech._

_In the background, he heard a small female voice mingling with the voices of his friends. He attempted to tune them out, until he heard Grantaire's drunk rambling._

_"Ah, so this is the famous Eponine!" Grantaire announced. Enjolras sighed, giving up._

_"Am I correct in assuming that you are the drunken Grantaire that Marius has told me about?" a female voice asked. It was a pretty voice, he decided._

_"You are quite right, Mademoiselle!" Grantaire said with an attempted bow that instead turned into a head-dive that resulted in Grantaire being sprawled on the floor, and the bottle crashing._

_"Grantaire, what now?" Enjolras groaned, finally looking up. "Ah, Marius, you're here. And I see you brought company."_

_"Yes, Enjolras, this is my friend Eponine," Marius told him. Enjolras simply acknowledged Eponine with a small nod._

_"Nobody panic!" Grantaire was yelling. "I am perfectly fine, although I'm going to need another bottle-"_

_"Don't you think four and a half are enough, wine-cask?" Enjolras asked him dryly._

_"Why of course not, Enjolras! We can't all be as pure and perfect as you, mon ami!" the drunk replied._

_Enjolras sighed, and looked over to Eponine, studying her. She was rather pretty, to Enjolras' surprise. Marius had always described her as being like any other street urchin, but Enjolras didn't think that was the case. Her long, tangled auburn hair was, in his opinion, prettier than the hair of any bourgeois girl, and there was an obvious fire in her dark eyes, despite the fact that she looked rather shy. Of course, anyone who wasn't used to Grantaire would be shy in the drunk's presence. Enjolras decided that with a bath, decent clothing, and enough food, Eponine could easily be the prettiest girl in all of France._

_"Are things always like this?" he heard Eponine ask Marius quietly, and he smiled to himself. She was clearly smitten with Marius. That was good, he decided. He figured that she would probably make Marius very happy, and Marius would do the same for her, and give her the life that she so clearly deserved…_

Enjolras sighed, shaking himself out of the memories. None of it had happened the way he'd thought it would.

He had fallen for Eponine himself, and Marius had ignored the fact that the tiny girl had been following him around like a lost puppy for years, instead becoming a love-sick lost puppy himself for some blonde girl! And now, thanks to Marius, Eponine had barely survived. _She might not even live through the night,_ Enjolras realized. He clutched her hand more tightly as she whimpered, clearly locked in a nightmare.

Not entirely certain what he was doing, or why he was doing it, he leaned down, their faces nearly touching. He had nearly pressed his lips to her forehead when he jerked his head back up at the sound of a voice.

"Cosette…" Marius muttered. "Cosette…"

He sighed, and released Eponine's hand, standing and walking over to the window. He was losing his mind, and over a girl! But Eponine… Eponine was different, better than any other girl that he had ever come across. And certainly better than that Babette or whatever her name was that Marius was in love with.

_Marius is a blind idiot if he can't see what's right in front of him,_ Enjolras thought as he cast a disgusted look at the man who was fast asleep with a dreamy expression on his face.

"Cosette… Marry me, my love…" Enjolras gagged, and decided he couldn't take it anymore. He walked over to Marius, and shook his shoulder.

"En- Enjolras, what is it?" Marius asked, opening his eyes right away and blinking rapidly. "Are we under attack?"

"No, you were muttering nonsense in your sleep," Enjolras replied. "Something about marrying Basette or whatever her name is."

"For the millionth time it's Cosette!" Marius replied.

"If you're going to talk in your sleep, could you do it somewhere else where there isn't a chance of you disturbing the wounded?" Enjolras asked him irritably, and Marius nodded before walking off with a scowl on his voice, muttering in annoyance about Enjolras never getting his beloved's name right.

Enjolras sighed and turned back to Eponine. She was whimpering again, and as he watched, she began to thrash about, a terrified look on her face.

"No… Please, no… Papa, I'm sorry, please don't!" she whimpered. Without a second thought, Enjolras rushed over to her and tried to comfort her, brushing her hair out of her face, and whispering to her quietly, only to get himself punched in the face.

* * *

"No, please don't, Papa! Please!" Eponine whimpered as her father gave her blow after blow while she cowered in the corner. "I'm sorry!" And then someone was stroking her face. _Montparnasse!_ It had to be him. Who else would do such a thing?

She opened her eyes and instantly threw her fist into the other person's face before realizing that it had all been a dream, and she had just punched Enjolras in the face.

* * *

"Agh!" he hissed in pain, backing away, his hand over his nose. "You weren't kidding, you are stronger than you look," he commented, pulling his hand away and spotting blood. "I think you broke my nose!"

"Sorry," Eponine said quickly, her eyes wide as she tried to sit up, staring at him in shock. "I-"

"You were having a nightmare, I know, you were talking in your sleep," Enjolras finished for her.

"You might want to put something over your nose, you're really bleeding," Eponine commented after a moment, raising an eyebrow as she watched the blood trailing down Enjolras' face. He didn't reply; he just tore a strip of material from his shirt and held it up to his nose.

"You have quite the punch," he commented.

"Hardly surprising, considering where I grew up and the people I've had to deal with," she replied. "Where's Marius?"

"He left not too long ago, he was being annoying so I sent him off. I think he went upstairs," Enjolras replied. He was slightly annoyed that Eponine had asked that so soon after waking up.

"It's a shame, I was hoping he'd be here," Eponine replied, looking genuinely disappointed.

"Yeah, I know you love him-" He stopped himself as she gave him a sharp glare.

"Not because I love him; because I was hoping to give him a piece of my mind!" she snapped.

Enjolras raised an eyebrow. Not at all the answer that he'd been expecting.

"Really?" he asked cautiously. Eponine's expression was one of one who was out for blood.

"Yes, really!" she replied viciously. "I wasted years on him, helped him find Cosette, everyone but him could tell I loved him, I risked my life to deliver a letter to Cosette for him earlier, and thanks to him I'm lucky to be alive right now!"

Enjolras briefly considered pointing out to her that it wasn't exactly Marius' fault that she had gotten shot on the barricade earlier, as none of Les Amis had requested for her to return when she had left, but considering that she had already punched him in the face once that night, and she looked ready to kill someone, he decided that it was probably not a good idea.

So instead he simply nodded, still pressing the cloth to his bleeding and possibly broken nose.

"Feeling better yet?" he asked casually after a moment of rather uncomfortable silence.

"Hardly," she replied, venom still in her voice. "But I'll feel loads better once I've taken care of Marius!"

Enjolras decided that he would definitely not like to be in Marius' shoes right then. It somehow seemed like being Marius right now would be very dangerous to one's health. He did not envy his friend at all.

"Please don't kill him, we need him alive for at least tonight," Enjolras told her.

"Well, he'd better hope he doesn't last the night, considering what I'm planning to do to him if he does!"

"Why the sudden hatred? You adored him earlier," Enjolras reminded her. She glared at him.

"That was before he nearly got me killed!"

Women. They were so irrational. Again he resisted the urge to point out that it wasn't really Marius' fault, knowing that such attempts were more likely than not futile.

Her gaze then softened. "What exactly did you want to tell me earlier?"

Enjolras' heart nearly stopped. He'd been hoping she'd forgotten. Clearly, she hadn't.

"Oh, it was nothing," Enjolras lied.

"It didn't seem like nothing earlier, when you looked ready to tie me up and force me to listen to you," Eponine replied, her eyes narrowing.

"I- I was merely planning to tell you not to come back to the barricade," Enjolras said quickly, hoping that his lie would be convincing. It wasn't.

"You're lying." Eponine was too smart. He should have known lying would be pointless with her, considering who her father was. He sighed, pulling the cloth away from his nose, which had finally stopped bleeding, and set the cloth on a table.

"Fine, you're right. But you need to rest, I'll tell you later-"

"There might not be a later, Enjolras," Eponine said sharply, swinging herself around so that her legs hung off the bed and then trying to stand up. She started to collapse, and Enjolras caught her.

_How on Earth did I get myself into this mess?_ Enjolras wondered as he stared at her face, which was uncomfortably close to his.

There were freckles on her face, he realised, a few on each cheek, as well as a couple on her nose. If he wanted to, he could probably count them. And her eyes, her lovely, dark eyes. They weren't black, as he'd originally thought, but a very, very dark brown. The prettiest shade of brown he'd ever seen.

Her arms were around his neck, and his were around her waist. There was barely an inch between their lips, he realised. It would just be too easy to lean in closer and touch them with his own…

Neither of them moved or said anything, they just stayed like that, looking at each other. Enjolras was amazed to find that he was seriously considering kissing her, and that she hadn't moved to get away from him. Wasn't she completely in love with Marius? Then again, she had seriously sounded like she wanted to kill his friend not long before that.

"Enjolras?" she said finally, her voice small and quiet. He loved the way his name sounded with her voice.

"Yes, Eponine?" he asked her, equally quietly.

"What are we doing?" she asked. She was trembling slightly, and without realizing it, he pulled her closer to him.

"I- I don't know," he admitted after a moment. They remained silent for a few moments again, neither one daring to move. Then Eponine spoke again.

"I still want to know what you were going to say to me earlier. Please, just tell me."

Enjolras remained silent for several moments. He felt completely ridiculous. He was fearlessly leading a revolution battling the National Guard when they were seriously outnumbered, yet he was absolutely terrified of telling a woman he loved her, despite the fact that he currently had her in his arms while their lips were no more than an inch apart.

He struggled to find the right words; how on Earth was he supposed to say it. She was still staring at him, meeting his gaze. Her eyes were wide and pleading; she really did care, she really did want to know.

Surely he had picked up some sort of hint from listening to Pontmercy's constant rambling. There was no escape now, and he knew it. He was going to have to tell her, here and now, in the middle of the night in the café while outside the barricade awaited.

"I, I was going to tell you that I, well, I don't when it happened, but, you amaze me, you really do," he began. Eponine raised an eyebrow, looking at him skeptically.

"I amaze you?" she asked.

"Let me finish," he said quickly. "You're strong, and stubborn, and beautiful, and loyal, and I don't know when, or how, but at some point I- I…" He couldn't do it. He couldn't say it. It was impossible.

"You what?" she asked, looking up at him, her eyes gazing into his. His heart was beating so loudly that he was certain she could hear it.

"I…" he tried again, but couldn't find the words. Hi brain had gone fuzzy, and he couldn't think. Without even knowing exactly what he was doing, he closed the small gap between them, pressing his lips to Eponine's, gently at first, then more firmly. She somehow seemed less surprised than he did, as if she had been expecting it. It only lasted a few moments before he pulled away, and Eponine looked a little disappointed that he had.

"I love you," he finally managed to say, and Eponine smiled, standing on her toes to kiss him quickly on the lips.

"I love you too," she whispered.

**I hate romance scenes. I hate them with a burning passion. How do people write them? The entire time I tried writing it, I was giggling like an idiot! Ugh! I can write an awesome battle scene no problem (only took me half an hour to write some of teh really epic battles in Rising Night that are full of blood and claws ripping through fur and skin and stuff), but romance? Took me three hours to wriite the last half of this chapter. I swear I have this pathological fear of romance or something, it's almost as bad as my fear of chickens and spiders (more so the chickens, as romance and chickens are irrational fears, while a fear of spiders is highly rational).**


	16. Chapter 15

**Due to exams and such, I've had little time for writing, so this is just a short filler chapter. The next one will be really long to make up for this, I promise!**

Chapter 15

Enjolras looked at Eponine in amazement. "You- you do?" he asked, dumbfounded.

She nodded, and then grimaced, pulling away from him, a hand flying to her wound as she began to collapse. Enjolras caught her before she hit the floor.

"You need to get back to bed," he told her, concern in his dark eyes. Eponine opened her mouth to protest, but realized he was right, and nodded, biting her lip.

Enjolras smiled, and lifted her in his arms, once again amazed at how light she was, then set her back down on the 'bed' that was actually just a table with a blanket.

Her eyelids fluttered slightly, as if she was trying not to fall asleep again.

"You can sleep, 'Ponine. You probably should, actually, since you're so badly wounded," Enjolras told her gently, amazed at how she was only just feeling the effects of her wound. Her actions earlier had probably been due to adrenaline.

"Will you stay with me?" she asked weakly, gripping his hand tightly. He nodded, smiling. Her eyes closed shortly after as she fell asleep, and Enjolras bent over to place a gentle kiss on her forehead.

_I'll stay as long as I can, and leave when I am needed. I just wish I could stay forever…_

Several hours later, Eponine opened her eyes, and found that she remembered little. All she knew was that she was in serious pain. She had been injured somehow, apparently. But how?

She tried to sit up, then remembered. The barricade, she had been shot. She hissed in pain as her wound forced the memories back.

Marius. This was his fault. He had sent her off to deliver a letter to Cosette. His precious little blonde angel. Everything she had grown to care about had changed within a single week. Only a week ago, Cosette had returned to Eponine's life, and made her more miserable than ever. Thanks to Cosette, she had lost the one thing in her life that had still mattered to her, that had still given her hope. Cosette had taken away Marius.

But no, not everything that mattered was gone. Enjolras. He had been there earlier, she recalled. He had told her he loved her… She raised a hand to her head, which hurt from trying to remember. Enjolras had kissed her, and told her he loved her, then…

Her eyes widened in shock. She had kissed him back and said that she loved him, too!

"What was I thinking?" she groaned, burying her face in her hands as she finally managed to sit up straight. All of the adrenaline that had allowed her to move about when Enjolras had been there was gone, now, and movement was far more painful.

She continued trying to piece the night back together. She had asked Enjolras to stay with her while she slept. Clearly, he hadn't stayed for long, as he was gone, now. Perhaps he had only been trying to make her feel better and hadn't meant his words…

A shot rang out, followed by a few shouts. No, he had left out of necessity, not because he didn't really care. Besides, Enjolras would never lie to her and lead her on. He was decent.

But as for herself… Just exactly how did she feel? She'd still been slightly delirious when she had last been awake, why else would she have said those things to Enjolras? However, her fury towards Marius was still quite strong, so she hadn't been too delirious, not like when she'd first been shot.

Enjolras. Did she love him? Could she love him? She clearly cared about him enough to say she did and kiss him, although she still wasn't sure why she had done so.

Another gunshot sounded, jolting her from her thoughts. What was she thinking, anyways? Worrying about whether or not she loved someone when people were still getting shot and killed?

Silence prevailed then for a while, before the cheering started. _Just what is going on out there?_


	17. Chapter 16

**Sorry that this took so long. And honestly, I don't think that this is my best bit of work. But between exams, planning/leading a church service (yes, I led a worship service at my church. For the third time. United Church of Canada lets seventeen year old girls with no training do so. Besides, that's my desired career path anyway, so there), major friend drama (I just may have lost one of my best friends last night), and the beginning of a new semester (Drama Class RULES! And Philosophy is going to be awesome!), my focus has been anywhere but on fanfiction. Especially since around 9pm last night. Stupid drama (friend, not class or club).**

Chapter 16

"Then it's settled. You will speak to members of the government and try to come to an understanding," the army officer told Enjolras, who nodded.

He sighed slightly as the officer then turned and walked away. It wasn't the victory he had wanted, but it was a start. They would speak and try to come to an agreement. It was better than nothing. He returned to his men, and told them what had happened, and they all cheered. The truce was a better ending than the bleak fate that some had begun to expect when the cannons had been brought in.

As Enjolras glanced around at them, he suddenly felt exhausted. Not all of them had made it through the night. Bahorel had fallen, as had Feuilly, and a few citizens who had joined them as volunteers. The rest had survived though, for which he was thankful.

Many had been wounded, however. Lesgle, Courfeyrac, and Prouvaire had joined Eponine in the café with various injuries. Joly and Combeferre had assured him they would live, however. He glanced at Marius, who was pacing in annoyance.

"What's got you all riled up?" he heard Grantaire, already drunk again, somehow, ask the clearly impatient young man.

"I just want to get out of here and go see Cosette!" he replied, finally stopping and crossing his arms across his chest.

"Then what's stopping you?" Enjolras retorted, leaning against the wall of the café, arms folded across his chest. "By all means, please leave!"

Marius stared at him like he had grown three extra heads.

"Almost all night you've been going on about her nonstop, and it's really getting quite annoying! If that's what it will take to give us at least a few moments of peace, then go right ahead!" Enjolras snapped. He had reached the end of his patience with the man.

"But I don't know if she's still here! She could be gone forever by now for all I know!" Marius groaned.

Enjolras couldn't help but notice the odd look one of the volunteers was giving Marius, as if the man knew something.

"Why don't you ask him?" Enjolras asked, nodding to the older volunteer. "He looks like he might know something."

Marius turned to look, and his eyes met those of the man Enjolras had gestured to.

"Do you know Cosette?" he asked quickly. "Do you know my beloved blonde angel?"

Enjolras groaned at Marius' rapid-fire lovesick questions, and felt somewhat relived when the man revealed that he did, in fact, know Cosette as he was her father. Brilliant. He could get Marius out of his hair.

"Yes, monsieur, she is my daughter," the man replied.

"Then do us all a favour and get him out of here," Enjolras said quickly as a wide grin spread on Marius' face. "I've been listening to him talk about her since we got here, and it has gotten rather annoying."

The man nodded slowly, clearly uncertain exactly what to make of the two. After talking briefly with Marius, however, he eventually led him away, no doubt home to Cosette. Enjolras rolled his eyes as he watched Marius leave; the other boy may as well have been walking on a cloud.

He stepped away from the wall he'd been leaning on and returned to the café to check on Eponine. He was thrilled to see her sitting up, looking far more alert than she had the night before.

She looked slightly confused, as if she was unsure of what exactly was happening. She spotted him after a moment, and instantly asked the last question he had expected her to ask.

"Where's Marius?"

Eponine felt her heart leap into her throat as she saw Enjolras walk into the café. Not because his leg was bleeding from some sort of injury, but because of the events of the night before, when she had been running on adrenaline and still slightly delirious. Did she love him? She didn't know, but she had told him that she did. She'd have to be careful about how she told him she wasn't actually sure. But what to say first?

She decided that she would ask him what exactly had happened. People had come in injured in the past ten minutes since she had heard the cheering, but no one had told her anything, they had simply seen to their injuries.

But, of course, that was not what she actually asked him. No, the first words out of her mouth were the stupidest ones she could have thought up, and she regretted them as soon as they left her mouth.

"Where's Marius?"

_Idiot,_ her mind told her,_ you told him last night that you love him, and the first thing you say to him when he walks back in here is a question about the other man you love, the one you think you may still actually be hung up on? Stupid, stupid girl!_

Enjolras looked rather surprised at her question, but no doubt figured that she had asked it because she still wanted to clobber him. "Gone," he replied.

"Gone as in dead, or gone as in he left?" Eponine asked, feeling her heart nearly stop at the word.

"He left with Cosette's father, just now," Enjolras replied with a shrug.

"Then… She's still here. She didn't go to England…" Eponine said quietly, hating Cosette once again.

"No, they're still here," Enjolras said slowly, looking at Eponine carefully. "Are you all right?"

She shook her head instantly, a tear sliding down her cheek. _Why here, _she wondered, wishing that she were strong enough to stop herself from crying. "I- I think I made a mistake last night," she said slowly. "I'm sorry, Enjolras, but, I was delirious, I wasn't thinking-"

She watched as comprehension dawned on Enjolras' face, and felt guilty as she saw a glimmer of disappointment shine briefly in his dark eyes before he shook his head. "It's fine, I understand. Marius. It's always been Marius, no matter what he does."

"Oh, no, I still want to kill Marius for being a blind idiot who clearly doesn't even care that I could have died, but, I don't know, I just feel so confused. I need time to think about everything and sort out exactly how I feel," she explained quickly, hoping that she wasn't talking too fast and that everything she said made sense to him. She wasn't even sure that she understood exactly what she was saying, of course, that could be due to the pain she felt in her shoulder and chest from being shot.

She stared at him nervously for a few moments in silence before he slowly nodded, and she released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Of course, I understand, Eponine."

Eponine. He'd called her Eponine. Not 'Ponine, Eponine. She didn't know why, but that somehow hurt her more than she realised it could.

Thankfully, Joly walked in then, ending the awkwardness. He nodded to Marius, then turned to Eponine.

"So, what are we going to do with you while you recover?" he asked her, and she shrugged. "Do you have a home we could take you to?"

"No, I left," she replied, her mind flashing back to two days before, when she had fled from her parents and their gang. She noticed the concerned look that Joly and Enjolras shared before they looked back at Eponine.

"The hospitals won't want to take her," Joly murmured to Enjolras, "and unfortunately there's no room at my flat right now, or else I would take her in a heartbeat. Marius-"

"Ran off to find Cosette," Enjolras said, cutting off Joly.

"Then you're going to have to take her."

"What?" Eponine and Enjolras said at the exact same time, staring in shock at Joly, who shrugged.

"You're the only one with room, and it won't be difficult, Enjolras. Besides, I'll stop by every day to check up on her-"

"I don't think that's a good idea right now, Joly," Eponine said quickly. Joly frowned at them, looking concerned.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked them, and Eponine and Enjolras instantly glanced at each other, neither one sure what to say.

"No," Enjolras said after a moment. "Nothing's wrong."

"Great. Then you can go home and get everything set up for 'Ponine, and I'll bring her there in an hour. Oh, and you need to get your leg looked at, mon ami," Joly told Enjolras with a quick glance at his leg.

Enjolras glanced down at his leg, then shrugged. "As you wish, Joly," he said stiffly, with one last glance at Eponine. Joly smiled, then walked away.

Eponine sighed, and lay back down on the table. Great. Marius was with Cosette, her father and his gang – Montparnasse in particular – were probably looking for her, Enjolras probably hated her now, and she was going to be stuck at the revolutionary's house while she recovered.

_Can this possibly get any worse? Honestly, just how do I get myself into these messes?_

**Bet none of you saw THAT ending coming. So, yeah, book three will be up... I don't know when. I've got a lot of other issues to sort out. Issues barricades can't solve, sadly. Barricades are actually the problem here. Question: What kind of cannon does one use to knock down brick walls in an effort to get a message across to people who are too stubborn to see their own self-worth? And that is a rhetorical question, do not feel the need to answer it, although advice would be welcome... I apologize, my ADD took over there... Hope you liked book 2, please don't kill me, I have plenty more E/E stuff planned for book 3. I'll try to put book 3 up soon! Thank you guys so much for all of the support so far!  
**


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